The Day before Tomorrow
by sunshine1717
Summary: When the end of summer sneaks up on Edward, how will he find it in himself to come to terms with his unbreakable bond with a happy go lucky Lazlo, while at the same time learn to say goodbye? LazloXEdward, also supporting RajXPatsy & ClamXGretchen
1. Noon

**Author's Notes: **

_This was my first LxE fic. Go easy on me, this was also my first fan-work in a long time. I had a lot of fun with it, although I may have strained the romance just a bit at the end. I couldnt help it, lol_

_Have fun and enjoy!_

_sunshine1717_

* * *

**Chapter One**

**Noon**

After what had been 7 hours and 3 minutes since he had last seen the monkey who had invaded his life all summer, Edward, as you can imagine, was rather deprived of the usual affection that was forced upon him, and though you may think that the poor young platypus was celebrating this long-awaited freedom, it began to grow apparent that the alone atmosphere was not exactly welcoming. Staring out the airplane window, high above the clouds, far away from everything, it played over in his mind like an unkind movie that wouldn't shut off when you punched down on the stop button.

…_..Damn you, Lazlo…_

24 Hours earlier 

The day had been like any other. Slinkman had bellowed over the loud-speaker that _same _announcement to 'rise and shine' at the crack of dawn, all of the _same _scouts emerged from their bunks and gathered by the _same _flagpole, where Scoutmaster Lumpus stood awaiting them with that _same _annoyed expression across his face he'd been wearing since the beginning of summer.

In fact, it'd been _so _similar to any other day that Edward hadn't noticed the backpacks and luggage hauled every which way and the camp bus parked at the front gate awaiting departure.

At first glance, it appeared that a field trip was about to take place, but having not checked his calendar in weeks, Edward had failed to realize that the summer months had dwindled down to late august, and though the hot weather still burned on throughout the countryside, today was the last day Camp Kidney would be open!

All at once, this hit him like a freight train. "…Wait'a minute..._**camp is over??"**_

Some of the other scouts glanced his way, but didn't acknowledge his confusion.

The platypus stared, dumbfound, as Scoutmaster Lumpus took his place at the head of the collection of scouts. "Alright you beans, listen up! You know the procedure by now, I _shouldn't _have to repeat myself! All your luggage has to be out here by the flagpole by 5 p.m. sharp!"

Some of the scouts looked at one another, then nodded.

The big moose popped open a jolly grin all of a sudden as he continued. "Parents and transportation arrive tomorrow morning, bright and early!…blah blah blah! So be ready to leave! Camp Kidney misses you already!" Lumpus was noticeably more cheerful than usual.

Edward crossed his arms and let out a huff. How could the end of summer creep up on him so suddenly? In the years before, he remembered when he would literally _**dwell **_on that last day of camp, which always took an eternity to arrive! He would have his bags packed a week before departure and have his goodbyes spoken even months before!

But this summer, things had been much different. Besides the usual chaos that took place in camp and the idiotic bean scouts who caused it, there had been a slightly larger chaos that had loomed over him since the first day of camp. He had been torched, trampled, and tarnished with peace, love, and happiness. He had had to suffer a never-ending _irritation _for three months; An irritation similar to a rash that never left his side; that never let him have a moments rest. This rash had taken over his life and had continuously given him free affection and fun. Edward had found himself hating and loving life all at the same time! How was any of this possible? For him, it had been a huge confusion. Emotions had elapsed in him that he had never felt before and somehow out of all this torment he had found a youthful refuge…

He cringed a little.

There was only one name to describe this torment. And that name was Lazlo.

--"_**AHEM**_!"

Edward was brought back from the revolution in his mind by the impatient rhythm of a tapping foot in the dirt. Lumpus towered above him. "Excuse me, but why are you still standing there? Speech is over!! Get to packin'!!"

Edward glared, unable to welcome the presence of the authority figure or his mockingly tempo-pro foot. He'd lost track of time again, it seemed. All the other bean scouts had gone back to their cabins already.

"Did you _**HEAR **_me, camper?" Lumpus hollered.

"Sure, _whatever_…" Edward quickly walked away before the big moose could say another word, and Lumpus's face reddened with adult-rated anger.

"_**AAARRRG**_!! Slinkman!! The scouts are disrespecting my dominance again!!"

Slinkman, secretly admiring young Edward's act of bold behavior towards the scoutmaster, could only chuckle. "….Calm down, Sir. Just one day left."

Lumpus slumped over. "……That's one day too many if you ask me."

Edward made his way across camp to Pinto Cabin, where Chip and Skip, his unruly cabin-mates, were staring blankly at their suitcases, drool dangling from their mouths.

"…..Is there a reason why your bags are so enticing, or should I just not ask?" Edward heaved passed the two dimwits and headed for the comfort of his bed.

"I….I forgot how to do this!!" Skip howled suddenly, darting his eyes toward his brother, who nodded franticly in agreement.

"….Ugh." Edward was in no mood, especially now, to deal with his roommates. "How about you both just pack _yourselves _and they'll ship you off overnight?…That'll save everyone a lot of trouble."

The brothers looked at each other before smiling in acceptance to Edward's obvious sarcasm. "Yeah! What a stupendous plan, Edward! You're the smartest!"

As the dung beetles began zipping themselves up into their luggage, Edward lost his patience. He'd wanted to get some more sleep that morning, but it was apparent that this wasn't going to happen. He sat up from the lumpy mattress and marched out of the cabin to get some fresh air. Nothing was worth watching two idiots turn themselves into baggage all afternoon…not when there was much more important things to take care of. Like, for example, ending the ridiculous situation he'd somehow gotten himself into with a certain oblivious monkey.

As Edward walked the campgrounds slowly, he observed different scouts as they romped around him.

He saw The Loons: Ping-Pong and Dave, talking amongst themselves as they carried their belongings towards the flagpole. Samson was trudging after them trying to get a word in, but with no success.

Across camp, The lemmings could be heard inside their cabin making a fuss over something insignificant.

Other nameless campers ran around in the sun, trying to enjoy the last day of play before they would have to bid farewell to their friends and head home the following morning.

Though Edward could care less about all of them and their so called "friendships," he couldn't deny the fact that he too would have to say goodbye sooner or later to the annoyance he'd come to care so much about over the past few months--And admitting this, above all other things, sent a pang of anxiety down his spine.

How could this really be happening? How could he let himself get so attached?! Now he would have to face the consequences. He tore at his hair trying to keep from thinking about it. He had to somehow make it less of a big deal.

Upon approaching Jelly Cabin, his heart became suddenly heavy, racing at full speed. This always took place when he came near the rickety building.

Pausing outside its walls, he noticed the lack of peace-sign streamers and other miscellaneous décor that was ordinarily cascading across the roof and screens. They must have already been taken down earlier that morning.

After Edward's legs tried to keep walking past the cabin all together, he had to force himself to stop and retrace his steps back to the front door. He knew that this was as good of time as any to go in and end things once and for all.

What was he going to say though?

_Lazlo, I wish I'd never met you. _

No…too harsh.

_Lazlo, it's been real! Have a nice life!_

Was that even okay to say?

_Lazlo…I'll never forget you, so… Don't forget about me…!_

ARGG!!

This was all too difficult to handle…

It wasn't _supposed _to be. This was _**supposed **_to be easy! But if this was so easy, why couldn't he catch his breath?

He swallowed hard and lifted his hand to open the door. Before Edward could reach the handle though, the door swung open, smacking him right in the face, and revealing the rather unattractive backside of Raj, followed by Clam.

The two Jellies were carrying out a large wooden hope-chest with Indian designs carved across it's features.

The scene unfolding in front of Edward and the now swelling lump on his forehead was motivation enough for him to give up on his previous mission and retreat quickly, but before he could get away, Raj abruptly missed the last step of the doorway and tumbled down to the ground, the chest landing on top of the elephant, followed by Clam perched at the peak of the mound.

Edward watched this painful incident take place with a bit of amusement.

After a moment, Raj's muffled voice could be heard from underneath the heavy load. "Get this thing off of me!!"

Clam scampered off the chest and down to the ground, now in an attempt to pick the heavy cargo off of his friend.

"Geez…is it me, or is this place _infested _with idiots?" Edward barked as he assisted Clam in pulling the ancient form of luggage off of the Elephant.

Clam was a bit stunned to see Edward helping out.

After a few moments of gasping for air, Raj got to his feet again. "….My _goodness_! You've gotten much stronger than I realized, Clam! Thank you! I owe you my _life_!"

As Raj began making a panorama of dramatic gratitude, Clam shook his head and pointed towards Edward, who was brushing himself off angrily. "Edward help!"

Raj ceased his performance and rolled his eyes. "Psshhha! Yeah right, little buddy! That's a good one! Trying to keep the mood nice and light, I see!"

Clam shook his head again more violently and repeated himself. "Edward _**help**_!"

Edward, still in high hopes of escaping the picture, was already walking away when Raj looked towards him in shock. "….…Your serious? Kind of _strange_! In fact, _**very **_strange! But……thank you, Edward! That was rather _**nice **_of you!" Raj called after the platypus.

Edward winced at the word _**nice **_and looked back over his shoulder. Raj and Clam were both waving at him like buffoons.

As he grumbled and continued walking away, trying to avoid the reason why he'd come there in the first place, Raj stumbled after him. "Hey! Wait up!"

Finally exasperated with the situation, Edward spun around to face the pests. "_**What**_!? Can't yah see I'm in a hurry here, Elephant boy!?"

Raj stepped a few feet away from the platypus for safely, but spared no effort in crossing his arms and puffing out his chest to look as intimidating as possible. "I was just _curious _to know if you had any intention in your _busy _schedule today to come see Lazlo? It seems like that would be the correct thing to do… seeing as it's the last day of--"

--"_**I KNOW**_! _**Geesh**_!! I'll stop by to see him later!! Right now, just leave me alone!"

Now Raj, who was very protective of his friend's well-being, _despised _the fact that Lazlo and Edward had been in cahoots with each other for the past few months. Although he'd long since given up the battle of trying to keep the couple apart, it was still daringly apparent that Raj wanted to make _sure _that Edward treated Lazlo with utmost god-like goodness at all costs. This included, of course, that Edward be a good boyfriend figure and give a proper farewell to his "lover" ….or whatever you'd call it.

Edward, however, being _Edward_, was in NO such mood to deal with Raj or his insanely protective ideals.

As the two began a never ending stare-down, Clam dragged the hope-chest over to Raj and motioned towards the other side of camp where the flagpole stood. It was clear to Edward that the Jellies were in some sort of a hurry.

As they initiated leaving, Raj yelled back to the peeved platypus: "You know, Lazlo's right inside the cabin! Just waiting away! In fact, I think he's still sleeping even! Don't you think now's a good time to go and _see _him!! That is, if you really _**care **_about him."

Edward's insides boiled at this comment, but he only rolled his eyes in response..

"_**Ahhh**_!! _**Fine**_! Suit yourself, you _**meany**_! Why do I even bother _**trying**_? I tell you Clam, he's not right for Lazlo at all!! I think he's a….." Raj continued to complain off in the distance until he could no longer be heard.

Edward looked back towards Jelly Cabin, sighing. Something inside him wanted to go in and see Lazlo, sure! But he was very mindful of this and backed away slowly. His endless fear of not being able to end things with the primate held him back from facing the problem! What if he couldn't do it?

He was about to carry out his previous motive and escape the scene, when he witnessed two scouts outside the cabin next door. One was crying and the other was handing him a goodbye gift-- some sort of handkerchief with words written on it.

_How old Fashioned,_ Edward thought.

The next gift was some high-tech Transformers toy.

_No comment._

After a moment, they both hugged and commenced sobbing on each other.

Edward felt like he was going to be sick.

But as the sad atmosphere impended upon him, he gazed up at the sky with an angry grimace. "_**OKAY**_! I GET IT NOW!!" He screamed to the Gods above.

He finally pushed himself to walk up the steps to Jelly Cabin and enter with his temporary frustration as support.

Upon opening the door, he saw toys and random objects scattered all over the place. Most of it must have belonged to Lazlo, because as it appeared, the monkey hadn't packed a single item into his empty suitcase yet. It lay, open and vulnerable, at the foot of Lazlo's bed. Somehow the poor looking thing reminded Edward of himself.

After gazing at the bed for some time, he managed to tip-toe over to the other side of the room, finding Lazlo, curled up, and as anticipated, fast asleep in the quilts.

Edward stared down at the monkey, at times finding excuses to peer off at other things in the room.

The lamp.

The crack in the wall.

The G. I. JOE dangling by a string from the ceiling.

The fixation of _anything _other than the compassionate monkey's face. It was _too _heart-warming and _too _relieving to consume, at least in Edward's case.

_Why is he still asleep this late? It's already almost noon! He's usually up at the crack of dawn! And he's __**never **__missed out on one of Lumpus's stupid pole-gatherings!….What's his problem!?_

Edward reached forward and felt Lazlo's forehead, anticipating to find him on the verge of high-degree death. But unfortunately for Edward, his temperature felt normal.

The platypus recoiled quickly.

_What am I getting myself all worked up about? He's just a stupid monkey!! He's ignorant and idiotic and a total pain in the neck! I should be __**happy **__that camp is over! It should be __**comforting **__for me to know I can get away from all this!! I mean…..I could just leave him a quick little sticky note on his luggage sayin' "Bye!" and that could be the end of it! I could be rid of him, and Camp Kidney, once and for all! Maybe I could….I dunno….be normal for a change?! Start anew! Meet someone else! …Someone __**better**__!….A girl even?_

As Edward grew lost in his own thoughts, Lazlo slowly opened his eyes to find the platypus sitting on the edge of the bed, staring off into space contemplatively.

…_**No**__, what am I thinking?!………….. There's …..no one else __**better**__ than __**him**__…at least, that's how I feel about it! DAMN IT!! I __**can't **__just leave him a freakin' sticky note!! God, what am I, a total __**jerk**__?? ………….WELL, I mean--in some cases, but this is different!! I just __**can't **__say goodbye to him!! No way!! Not to…….Not to Laz--_

--"Edward!! Good morning!" All of a sudden, Lazlo sprung from the bed sheets, arms outstretched, wrapping around, and then practically suffocating the un-expecting Edward to death! Now officially scared stiff, Edward jumped up off the bed with great haste in frightened reaction to Lazlo's sudden gesture of love and joy.

After a moment of inhaling and exhaling, Edward tried to smooth over the departing incident. "Oh!….Uh…hey! Um….good morning? --" But gave up half way through. "I mean, What the hell, _**Lazlo**_?! What is this with the out-of-nowhere _**hugging **_and _**excitement**_!! I could' a had a heart attack!! And _**why **_are you still in bed? It's already past noon!! What is _**WRONG **_with you??" Edward was so nervous all of a sudden, but his clutched fists and grinding teeth did a rather fine job of covering that up.

Lazlo sat patiently through Edward's fuss, then took part in a yawn and a stretch. "Oh man, I guess I forgot to set my alarm last night! ….Oops!"

Edward, now settling down a bit, continued asking questions. "I just don't get you, you're normally awake and singin' _Let the Sun Shine_ before the sun even decides to come up!! What gives?"

Lazlo peered over at his 'Bean Scout of the Month' calendar, frowned at the date, and then shrugged. "I dunno! I guess it just wasn't the greatest day to wake up so soon..…"

Edward tried to block out the reality behind Lazlo's words.

_Wow, he actually remembered what the date was? I figured he would've forgotten about it like I had! Was I the __**only **__one at Camp who forgot?? …..Ugh, I shame myself._

"Yeah…today ain't so great." He glared now, peering aimlessly out the interwoven screens above Lazlo's bed.

The monkey looked down at his lap now, twiddling his thumbs. After a moment of silence, he laid back down and opened the covers, smiling over at Edward as if the small conversation they'd been having hadn't taken place. "Care to join me?"

The platypus was not in good states. "….In the middle of the day? I think not."

Lazlo snuggled into the covers more. "Are you suuure? It's nice and cozy!"

Edward, still annoyed, sat down on the bed next to the horizontal monkey. It was already happening; Edward couldn't _believe _how easily he'd given in! This had to be a sign that he was _much _too stressed out to resist Lazlo's usual _happy, fun, super-duper, extra-magnificle love attempts_. But…things could be worse, he decided.

"Fine…..move over." Edward crawled into the sheets alongside his demise, crossing his arms behind his neck and staring up at the ceiling.

When he thought about, and I mean _**really **_thought about it, everything had actually been sorta good the past few months! Sure, he had been aggravated, upset, and embarrassed countless times!….But truth be told, Edward's subconscious told him that these things could somehow transfer into being genuinely happy! Perhaps happier than he'd been in years….maybe even _ever_!

How could he let a simple thing like a day on a calendar ruin it all?

He felt Lazlo breathing alongside him. His cheeks were turning bright red.

Why did it have to be like this? Why did he have to enjoy the monkey's company _so _much? He had been trying to hate him for so long… but hate was such a cover up now.

"Hey Edward?"

"….What?"

Lazlo cuddled closer. "…..Edward?"

"..What?"

The monkey's arms were wrapping around him now with delicate precision. "…………….Edward?"

"_**WHAT**_!? I SAID _**WHAT**_!?" Edward screeched out, annoyed and tense at the same time.

"We should go do something today! Instead of laying in bed."

Edward's expression slumped. "….Nice suggestion coming from someone who _just _woke up." He rolled over, sighing. His back was turned to Lazlo now.

Silence descended again on the cabin. Outside, they could hear the hustle and bustle of camp's final day of activities taking place.

Before long, Edward felt Lazlo press his body against his back, burrowing in as if to escape the world around them; a motion only they could understand.

_What am I, a stuffed animal? _Edward turned around to find their faces inches apart.

"….Edwarrrrrd!!" Lazlo whined.

"Ugh! _Fine_! Let's go do something…."

The monkey leapt out of the covers happily and rushed to find some appropriate attire. Edward sat, dull-faced.

…_.This'll be the last day I get to spend with him. __**The last day**__! Who knows if I'll ever even see him again!…… Next year? Won't we be two different people by then? Older and maybe even __**over **__this stupid phase? That could be good, right?_

"How about this?" Lazlo's excited voice brought Edward back from his discouraging thoughts to find the monkey dressed in an oversized tee and blue jeans.

"A little casual, don't yah think?" He gave his most honest fashion opinion.

"But _of course_, Edward! It's a very _casual _type of day!"

Before the platypus could get another word in, he was pulled away by the arm out the front door of Jelly Cabin and into the sunshine.

Around them, campers still hurried about. Noon was a busy time for camp during it's usual schedule, but today it seemed abnormally busier! Everyone was occupied with their own concerns. Even Clam and Raj, who could be recognized off by the flagpole, were diligently organizing their belongings and distressing Slinkman, who was apparently in charge of all the scout baggage.

Edward sighed. "…..It's not like there's anything exciting going on today, Lazlo. Camp is _more _than ready to kick the bucket…We should just wallow in luggage til the day is over."

"Come on now, let's think _positively_! There's _**TONS **_of stuff to do today! _Great _stuff even!" After letting these words float around for a moment, Lazlo calmly inspected the surrounding area.

Edward was waiting to be amused.

But as always, Lazlo seemed to have a solution to any dilemma, and it wasn't long before he spotted a trail leading off into the forest not far off from where they stood.

His face lit up. "Come on!!" He again grabbed Edward's arm with loving tightness and galloped off up the trail. "I got an idea! You're gunna love it, Edward!"

Although Edward usually loathed cheerful antics such as this, he couldn't help but find this final adventure of theirs rather nice and somewhat consoling. Couldn't Lazlo grab onto his arm like that and drag him away-- somewhere unattached from everything else-- more often?

TBC


	2. Reasons for Sunflowers

**Chapter Two**

**Reasons for Sunflowers**

The sun seemed to scorch the countryside surrounding Camp Kidney that day. As time melted by, the logical thing to do would be to dive head first into Leaky Lake in hopes of preserving one last refreshing swim, or perhaps to stalk the mess hall for potential extra ice cream bars being thrown out as Chef McMueslie cleared his perishables.

But instead of being logical, Lazlo had other ideas.

It drove Edward crazy not knowing what was going on or where he was being heaved off to, and because Lazlo had _always _beenso unpredictable, Edward initially _hated _the monkey and everything that he stood for. But obviously, the platypus had learned to love this trait about his companion--though he would never admit it.

The duo continued to run at full speed up the trail through the woods. Edward had to try desperately not to trip over any tree roots or fly into a rock.

It was a hectic trip, but after awhile, he found a simple joy in running through the shady forest alongside the object of his affections.

Lazlo, who was vastly aware of the precious cargo trying hard to keep up with him from behind, slowed down to a steady walk to ease the excursion uphill through the thick brush.

As they walked, Lazlo's hand in a sturdy grip around Edward's wrist, the peace-filled atmosphere lifted weight off of the young platypus's soul.

Thoughts still raced through his mind endlessly though.

_Where is he taking me?….. Ugh….all this walking! In this hot weather! It's killin' me!!_

Lazlo glanced over his shoulder and saw Edward's expression twist with perplexity; the way it always did when he was in deep conversational thought with himself. The monkey released Edward's wrist slightly and let his hand slide down the platypus's arm and tighten up again around his open palm.

Edward looked up at Lazlo, who didn't turn around. He stared at the monkey's back for the longest time, then peered down at the orange-furred hand collecting his own. He smiled and grasped it securely in response.

For some strange reason Edward was no aware of, This was _everything _to him. That hand. The wordless emotions being expressed. It was so reassuring. He held that hand so tight that Lazlo felt the circulation in his fingertips reducing! But he said nothing of it.

The silent stroll seemed to take a lifetime. It could have gone on like that and Edward wouldn't have minded at all, but finally a clearing appeared ahead of them.

The sun poured through the tree branches as they pushed their way through the final patch of shrubbery. Edward could tell that this part of the trail hadn't been visited in years! Why was Lazlo taking him _here _of all places?

"Okay Edward! I'm guna haveta ask you to close your eyes now!" Lazlo beamed. He lived for moments like this, where he could throw someone into a surprise in the best way possible.

Edward scowled. "….Why? No! I didn't agree to even _come _with you, you just dragged me here! I ain't closing my eyes!"

Lazlo stuck out his bottom lip. "But you _have _to, Edward! It's apart of the plan!"

The platypus glared into Lazlo's face, trying hard to look as fierce as possible--but it was no use. He'd somehow lost his ability to hold an angry expression for any amount of time when Lazlo pouted like that.

"….Ugh, you are _so _manipulative, you know that?"

"Really? Aww, thank you!" Lazlo didn't catch on to things very well, Edward had come to the conclusion of. This went without saying.

Lazlo now made his way behind Edward's back and pulled his hands up over the platypus's eyes, nudging him forward gingerly. "….Don't peak, okay? You have to promise!"

Lazlo sounded like animmature little kid when he said stuff like that. Why couldn't Edward hate him for it?

The darkness behind Lazlo's hands was unsteady. Edward had nearly lost his balance at least 5 times by now, not that he was counting. The only thing he knew was that they were in the sun now, because he could feel the warm rays hit his skin. The other apparent thing was the strong scent descending on them. What was it? It wasn't a _bad _scent, necessarily. It was just overpowering.

Just then, Lazlo laid his chin down on Edward's left shoulder and leaned in towards his ear. "You can open your eyes now!"

The monkey's warm breath against Edward's skin gave him goose bumps. The platypus was now beet red.

Lazlo's hands were removed from his eyes, revealing the unexpected scene sprawled out in front of them.

Edward's mouth dropped. Lazlo reached over and propped it back into place. Smiling as he jumped forward, he outstretched his arms. "You like it??"

"……Well…." Edward couldn't believe the view that lay before him! Fields upon fields of endless sunflowers! Tall and beautiful. "…Uh….where the hell did all _this _come from???"

Lazlo shrugged. "Dunno. It was just here! Raj, Clam, and I found it the other day! I thought it was _**so **_incredibly _**awesome**_ that I wanted to bring you here and show you! Flower power!"

Edward blinked a few times, a blank expression on his face. "…It's insane, Lazlo, I'll give it that. But kinda cool I guess."

Lazlo's eyes glittered. "Really???!"

The platypus rolled his eyes. "…Settle down, Mr. Sparkles."

Lazlo reached forward and grabbed Edward's hand again. "Let's go play!"

Edward had hoped to spend their final afternoon together in a lazy state, maybe doing something more _romantic _than simple child's play. But what more could be expected from Lazlo?

Suddenly he found himself being pulled off into the forest of 9 foot flower stalks towering over their heads.

Traumatizing as this was, it wasn't nearly as traumatizing to Edward as realizing that he was actually enjoying it!

Sometimes he forgot that they were still just kids. It had always been hard for Edward to just ease up and have a fun time doing kid things. His childhood had been devoured by maturity at a young age….possibly because of all his older brother's dominance over him, and the lack of parental care over the years.

But with Lazlo, and _only _Lazlo, he could find that inner-kid again.

They both ran fast through the flowers, dodging stems and leaves along the way.

"I bet I can beat you to the other side of the field!!" Lazlo taunted playfully.

Edward, now feeling more confident, wore a competitive smirk. "Oh is that _so_? Let's just see about that then…"

They released each other's hands and sped off in different directions through the sunflowers.

Edward encouraged his legs to move as fast as they could as he plowed forward. Darting under the big yellow flowers, knocking down petals into his face, he finally spotted the edge of the enormous field up ahead.

"I'm gunna win, _Lazlo_!!" He called out menacingly.

At long last, he jumped forward through the final row of stalks. Victoriously wielding his arms over his head like an Olympic champion, Edward leapt out into the sunny grassland beyond the sunflowers.

After catching his breath for a moment, he looked back over his shoulder at the field, waiting to show off to monkey boy his triumph. "…Hey Lazlo! Come out here and bask in my glory, cause I think I just beat you to a pulp at your own game!" Obviously, Edward was proud of his success.

After a moment of waiting patiently however, the monkey was no where to be seen!

Edward grew confused. "Uh…. Lazlo?" He timidly walked towards the wall of flowers and peeked in a bit to try and get a glimpse of orange fur amongst all that vegetation. Inside, the forest of stems appeared dark and ominous now. The platypus suddenly felt like he was alone. "……..Lazlo…..--?"

--- "YES, EDWARD!?!" Without warning, the monkey pounced from behind and tackled him to the ground. The screech which emerged from Edward's throat echoed through the valley like a blow-horn.

He immediately shoved the monkey off. " Where the hell were you?!! You scared the crap out of me!"

Lazlo's excited expression recoiled a bit. "I did?"

"Of course you did, _stupid_!! What would I do if something bad happened to you?!!?--- I mean-…." Before Edward could correct his sudden selfless outburst, Lazlo was already teary-eyed.

"You were worried about me?"

Edward turned red and crossed his arms, looking the other direction. "No! That's not what I said!"

"Oh Edward, you _**DO **_care!!" Lazlo sprung forward and glomped onto the platypus, knocking them both down to the ground again.

Edward groaned. "Ouch.."

The monkey's arms had collected themselves around Edward's neck.

Both of them were now sprawled out in the grass, Edward felt apprehensive and unsure of the situation. He had never been able to deal with close contact, it was something he just hadn't grown up with. But, as he came to realize, the more he encountered intimate association, the more he _wanted _it, and this frightened him.

"_**LAZLO**_….." He said the monkey's name as if to sound like he were giving an aggressive warning.

Lazlo stayed latched onto him without budging, content in their current position. His cheek lay in the cool grass. The scent of summer was still very much alive in the soil, and he found peace in the feel of their body's so close together, and the hot breeze wafting over them.

Edward wore a sour expression for a moment as he stared up at the sky, watching the clouds and the occasional bird flitter by. The two boys weren't facing each other and he was thankful for this, because that would have been too much for him to handle.

After awhile of complete silence, the platypus could feel his cheeks ready to burn off. "…Are you gunna let me go now?"

"Never." Was Lazlo's quiet response.

Edward tried to hold his breath. Lazlo's response meant more than the monkey realized he had let out.

Although he wanted to get up and run far away, completely afraid of what could spawn from all this, Edward's mind pressed him to stay still.

_Just don't get up. Just stay here like this for as long as you can. Cause tomorrow, you won't be able to ever do this again._

Lazlo's embrace only grew tighter as the minutes dwelled on.

Edward, at long last, relaxed. He continued to watch the sky above them, letting Lazlo have his way with the silent, never-ending hug. After awhile, he came to realize that this was all the monkey had in store in the sense of intimacy for the day. But if this was as romantic as Lazlo could get for their last afternoon together, it was more than enough.

The summer heat was slowly forgotten in the shade provided by the tall sunflower stems close by. It was replaced with an even warmer sentiment.

Edward smiled, having given up. _"_Ok, don't let me go_." _

He returned the embrace without another word.

* * *

Back at camp, heat was far more noticeable.

Raj and Clam heaved the last of their luggage atop other scouts' belongings surrounding the limp-looking flagpole.

Slinkman glanced their baggage over and then checked off both their names from a clipboard. "Alright, boys. Everything looks ready to go for Jelly Cabin…I'm glad to see this-- wait-" He peered in closer to his clipboard. "…Oh! Except for Lazlo's luggage! Is he _still _packing after all this time?"

The two friends exchanged glances before Raj stepped forward to respond. "….Um, well…. Mr. Slinkman…… yes! As a matter of fact, he's _still _packing his stuff back at the cabin! He's very slow, you know!"

Slinkman peered down at his wrist-watch and then wiped off some sweat from his brow. "You have a point there, Raj…..Well, okay, please tell him that Scoutmaster Lumpus wants all the luggage out here by 5 o'clock sharp! That's in two hours… I'm afraid Lumpus will be pretty angry if that doesn't happen!"

Raj chuckled a bit. "No worries, Mr. Slinkman! We'll make sure Lazlo gets his stuff together, pronto!"

Slinkman nodded and headed back to the mountain of suitcases and backpacks.

Raj heaved an enormous sigh and turned to head back to Jelly Cabin, Clam following closely behind.

After a moment, he began venting. "I can not _believe _how many times I've covered for Lazlo while he's off _canoodling _with that fiendish platypus! I can't take it anymore! He owes me big time!"

"A large amount!" Clam emphasized.

Raj spun around to face Clam, exerting more anger. "You know what, it's driving me insane!! What if Lazlo doesn't come back to camp by 5 o'clock?! Do you realize that _**we will **_be the ones Scoutmaster Lumpus comes after!?! _**WE WILL!!"**_

Clam could only back away from Raj, having no comment for his outburst.

Raj clutched his fists together and wailed loudly before continuing their march back to the cabin.

Clam sighed. All the other campers seemed to have learned to ignore Raj's eruptions of rage by now. Everyone already knew about Lazlo and Edward's current relationship and was considerably calm about it, despite the now and then clamor Raj seemed to cause. It had occurred to Clam after all this time that Raj rather disliked Lazlo and Edward's bond a great deal. Heck, that went without saying!

But Clam himself was indecisive on which one of his friend's was the good guy and the bad guy. He understood, in a way, how the both of them felt. He understood that Lazlo simply loved Edward…. just because! There needn't be a reason, really, except that Edward was Edward, callous or not, and Lazlo was Lazlo! Two people. Two living things that loved one another! It wasn't too hard to comprehend!

But Raj just didn't get that. His values were too basic to accept anything even slightly indifferent. This made Clam a little dejected, because he couldn't choose which one of his friend's viewpoints was the accurate one! He spoke nothing of it though. He cared about both Lazlo and Raj too much to question either of their beliefs.

The two friend's both made it to Jelly Cabin and Clam joined Raj in sitting side by side on the entrance steps, both resting their chins in their palms.

"Oh Clam, I feel so very low."

"Down and out?" Clam questioned, a bit taken back with Raj's sudden comment.

" I guess I don't _mean _to be rude about Lazlo's excursions with Edward. I've already seen how happy he is when they're together! It's just so _aggravating _that here it is the last day of camp and he's no where to be seen! Shouldn't he be with _**us **_today? We won't see him for a long time after tomorrow!" Raj wore a glum expression.

Clam understood Raj's point, but wanted to try to make his own opinion clear. "Just hung out with Lazlo!"

"All day yesterday. _I know_." Raj added to Clam's reasoning, sighing. "But he should be here with us _today _too! Am I so selfish for wanting to spend time with our best friend before we all go home?"

Clam wanted to explain things better, but being a short-spoken boy, he kept things simple, even in complicated situations such as this.

Suddenly an unmentioned topic occurred to the rhino.

"Raj spend time with Patsy too!"

Raj blushed. "Excuse me, but that is _different_! She is my _girlfriend, _Clam!"

Clam's face slumped into a glare.

Raj hesitated before lowering his head. "….Alright alright, I suppose it isn't _that _different."

Clam crossed his arms with impatience.

"_**OKAY**_! It isn't different at all!" Raj exclaimed, crossing his own arms and turning his back towards his buddy.

Clam released his annoyance and collected a sympathy again for the circumstances. He knew Raj cared a great deal for Lazlo and just wanted to spend time with him before they all left camp! Clam wanted that too! But Clam, unlike Raj, understood another element to their dilemma.

"Lazlo love Edward. A lot."

"--And that's why I made sure that that **meany **went to go see him today! That was gracious enough, wasn't it? I didn't expect them to spend the whole _**DAY **_together!!"

"_**A lot**_." Clam repeated himself, adding more emphasis to his last comment.

After a moment, Raj's angry expression altered into an empathetic frown. He didn't let Clam see it though.

Clam continued explaining. "Maybe Lazlo never see Edward again! But probably see us again! Lazlo and Edward been like glue!"

The elephant understood this. He too had had some wonderful times with Patsy over the summer, indicating he had experience with the "glue" factor. Unseparateable.

When he had confided his true feelings for her, he had been totally shocked and relieved to gather that she too felt the same way about him! It was the most superb feeling he'd ever felt! To love someone and be loved back just as equally in return; that was what true happiness was!

Now that both Camp Kidney and Acorn Flats were closing for the year, he had often pondered what he would do without being able to see Patsy on a daily basis! Who would he talk to about his frustrations? Or tell his secrets to? And most importantly, who would continue to care for him despite all of his flaws? Could he really bare to say goodbye to her?

Thinking about this made the elephant's eyes water, so he pushed the thought away.

But he couldn't help but continue wondering, was this the way Lazlo felt about Edward? Could it all possibly be the same?

Lazlo and Edward, with all honesty, had been glued by the hip for weeks. True, Lazlo had hung out with him and Clam for a large portion of the summer, but everything outside of the trio's activities was spent with Edward! Lazlo made sure to be there by the platypus's side, whether Edward liked it or not. Lazlo loved him from the bottom of his heart, and that fact shown more clear by the day!

Even though he still couldn't understand it, Raj somehow felt like he finally grasped a little bit more about what love truly meant, in Lazlo's case, or even his own.

Finally, he stood up from the steps and turned to face Clam, smiling sincerely. "Clam, you're right."

Clam was rather shocked to hear this! He leaned forward a bit as if wanting to hear more about this "you're right" scenario.

Raj only nodded in satisfaction with his heartfelt conclusion.

_Maybe I don't always understand certain things about this world, but I guess I can understand love a little bit. Lazlo loves Edward. ……Maybe that's reason enough to let him have his time with him for today?_

The elephant drifted through his own thoughts, trying to piece together the puzzle he'd been refusing to put together for months now; the puzzle that made up Lazlo and Edward.

Though a bit left in the dark, Clam felt like he had made some sort of miraculous breakthrough with Raj! This cheered him up immensely!

No sooner had his hopes rose for Raj however when suddenly:

"AHH!! But they are both _**BOYS**_! THAT STILL DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME!!!!"

Clam's momentary pleasure in helping Raj feel enlightened seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon.

Nevertheless, he continued to smile and commenced resting his chin in his palms again, staring out across camp towards Leaky Lake and reminiscing about his own affections for a certain female alligator dwelling in Acorn Flats.

Love was a strange thing, he decided. It wasn't meant to be understood. At least not entirely.

[TBC


	3. The Check Off

**Chapter Three**

The Check-Off

_This is the last day…. _The young platypus's thoughts drifted.

He had closed his eyes only for a moment, but now it seemed he'd fallen asleep, or was at least dozing. How could he help it? He hardly ever found peace like this, especially back at Camp Kidney.

But his mind still pressured on, reminding him of the little time he had left. He finally forced his eyes open, sat up, and stretched.

It took a moment to realize that his monkey companion was no longer sprawled out alongside him.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. _Here we go again….. _He feared that another search was in order. But as he got to his feet, he spotted the monkey off in the distance, rummaging around in the sunflower field, looking as cheerful as ever.

Edward brushed off some grass that had made rest on his attire. Before he could gallop off towards the field, he noticed green stains on his shirt and groaned. "….That'll take _forever _to get out!"

Lazlo, who was busy in the flowers, glanced up to see the platypus fussing on about his shirt. He stood up and started waving with excitement. "Edward!!!! Hey Edward!!!!"

Edward looked over at the monkey, who was jumping up and down. He glared. "…..Settle down, would yah? I'm comin'…."

Lazlo's smile widened as he commenced digging around amongst the vegetation as Edward made his way over.

As the platypus stepped through the stalks and finally stood beside Lazlo, the monkey quickly got to his feet, holding his hands behind his back. A dark blush was visible on his cheeks.

Edward grew annoyed. "….What's with _that _look?"

Lazlo turned even more red. "….Um, well…" The monkey stalled.

Edward promptly grew impatient. "Spit it out!"

Lazlo bit his bottom lip, then smiled timidly. "Look! I picked these for you! Yah like em!?" He pulled out from behind him a giant batch of sunflowers and shoved them into Edward's arms, nearly knocking the little platypus over.

After regaining balance, Edward glanced down at the messy heap of dirty sunflowers resting in his arms. How should he react to this? He always had to make sure he retorted the correct way. The _safe _way.

What he had _wanted _to do was leap around in happiness, grab the monkey, and kiss him til his lips fell off. But instead he tried to maintain a serious composure.

"…..Ugh…. these things are _filthy_! Geesh! They'll stain my shirt ten times worse than the grass!"

He let the flowers drop to the ground, but Lazlo seemed un-phased by Edward's unexcited response. He stepped closer to him, so close they nearly touched noses. "…It's ok….I've got _Tide _back at the cabin."

The monkey's voice was smooth and enticing. Edward could feel his stomach drop and his legs turn to jello. He couldn't stand it when Lazlo used stupid puns to lure him.

He swallowed hard before looking away from Lazlo's adjacent gaze. "…Th-Thanks for the flowers…." He made it sound like he was exasperated with the monkey as he picked one of the flowers back up. He hated pretending. Truth was, he desperately appreciated everything Lazlo did for him! And the more the monkey did, the more Edward wanted. And what Edward wanted was more of Lazlo! _Everything _of Lazlo. But Lazlo was so naïve and oblivious to everything, especially to characteristics of desire, so how could he ever understand the intensity of his own? This aspect of the situation was salvation to Edward though. At least some of his feelings were still secret. Maybe they should remain that way?

He finally turned away from the monkey and started heading back through the sunflower stalks. "We should probably get back to camp… It's getting late."

Lazlo's shoulders dropped a bit. He'd wanted the day to continue! Was it really _that _late already? He journeyed after Edward. "Hey, wait!"

Edward was watching his feet walk beneath him as he trudged along through the flowers. All this blushing was bad for his complexion, but he couldn't make himself stop. It was all that idiot monkey's fault.

"Edward, stop! Wait for me!" Lazlo still chased after him.

Edward could feel his heart beating out of control. Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't he stop it? Why couldn't he just get over this?

It was constant; the pressure to _**not **_like Lazlo. Here he'd found himself spending the entire day with him, as he'd been doing all summer. But today should have been different. His main goal was to break things off with the monkey for good, ultimately stopping himself from liking him so much. This was all so that when he had to say goodbye the next day, he could do it with some dignity and move on with his life afterwards.

But it was getting increasingly harder for him to make himself dislike the monkey.

He hated this.

He began to think of ways out.

Maybe he could ditch him once they arrived back at camp? Maybe he could just shut himself up in Pinto cabin and pack his things by himself! And _**not **_come out until the bus came to take him to the airport the next morning! He could avoid Lazlo for the rest of the night and then _**not **_say goodbye….and then maybe he could finally forget the monkey. Maybe that would make it easier?

Just then, a hand slipped into his own.

He stopped walking and raised his eyes to find Lazlo standing there beside him with that goofy smile of his mixed with worry spread across his face like a canvas.

His doubts melted for a moment, and then he had to force himself to remember them all.

"…..Wanna pack our stuff together?" Lazlo sounded like he was inviting the platypus to play a fun game.

Edward wished he could just push Lazlo away.

What was it he wanted?…. Did he want to hate Lazlo? Or did he want to _**love **_Lazlo? Love was such a strong word… A word Edward barely understood or cared about.

But when he stood there with the monkey's hand tightly squeezing his, how could he make himself hate that?

He loved every moment with Lazlo, whether he wanted to admit it or not!

Maybe he just didn't want to have to _**say **_goodbye in the first place?

Maybe he wasn't really trying to force himself to hate the monkey at all?

Maybe he'd already made up his mind that he loved the monkey more than anything, and _**nothing **_could change that!

He couldn't deny it.

"…Sure, let's go pack." He spoke with a calm essence, caving in.

Lazlo smiled with optimism.

As they began walking back through the forest towards Camp Kidney, Edward lowered his head once more to stare at his feet and hide his face. He didn't want Lazlo to see him fight away angry tears.

* * *

Camp had settled down immensely compared to the earlier hullabaloo. A pile of suitcases resembling Mt. Everest towered overhead Slinkman as he did his final name check.

"Alright, Milt, looks like you're all set. Good job, camper!"

The young hippo swooned in Slinkman's praise before skipping off to join his cabin-buddies.

The slug heaved a sigh, enjoying the evening air. It had finally begun to cool down. He peered over his list one more time, then rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot… we still have one more scout left." He held his index finger over Lazlo's name.

Before he could take off in a search for the monkey, his eyes caught the blank spot of another un-checked name.

"….Edward T. Platypus? Hm, that's funny, he's usually one of the first names I get to check off! I better look around for him too. Shoot, if Lumpus finds out that there are _two _scouts without luggage packed he'll throw a fit! And I've certainly had enough of his fits for one summer!"

As Slinkman rushed off to commence his hunt, Raj and Clam watched with peaceful expressions from the grassy sidelines.

"It has most definitely been a nice last day, eh Clam?"

"Lovely!"

The two friends smiled at one another. They'd kept busy all afternoon by playing at the beach, chasing the oh-so elusive imaginary lake monsters crawling around at the bottom of Leaky Lake. They soon tuckered themselves out and made their way to a nice resting spot in the cool grass, where they now sat.

It had been a good day. Fitting for the end of summer. Clam was surprised and relieved that Raj hadn't mentioned Lazlo's absence since their earlier discussion.

Naturally though, Raj was still curious as to where his monkey pal had been all afternoon and finally blurted out the question, "You think Lazlo had a nice day too?"

Clam just shrugged.

All of a sudden, out of the bushes emerged Lazlo with a limp Edward following closely after, hands still clasped together firmly.

Raj jumped up from his seat in the grass and rushed over to them. "_There _you are!"

Clam strolled after the elephant, waving.

Lazlo smiled and waved back. "Hey guys! Sorry about being gone for so long! I guess we lost track of time!"

Raj recognized Lazlo's plural reference and peeked behind the monkey at Edward, who was usually full of crude remarks at this point, but instead was as quiet as a mouse!

When the platypus realized he was being watched, he threw Lazlo's hand down and crossed his arms in front of his chest, averting eye contact.

Raj just raised an eyebrow then returned a worried gaze to his friend. "It's quite alright, Lazlo! Clam and I have had a fun afternoon as well. But you could have been a _tad _bit earlier than this! Slinkman is off looking for you as we speak!"

Lazlo tilted his head. "Why? Are we in some sort of trouble?"

Raj shook his head. "No, but you _will _be if you don't get your luggage out to the flagpole by 5:00 p.m.!"

Lazlo gasped. "Oops! I didn't know there was a packing time-limit! How much longer do we have?"

Clam lifted his arm up to Lazlo's face, revealing a wristwatch. It read 5:45 p.m.

Raj frowned nervously. "…Oh! Um….looks like… it's later than I suspected? Eh heh!"

"Very late!!" Clam exclaimed.

Lazlo nearly lost his footing. "Oh no! Come on, Edward, we gotta go pack our stuff, warp speed!!"

The seemingly mute platypus allowed himself to be yanked away.

Raj and Clam could only watch as they disappeared into camp.

"Is it just me, or is Edward acting a bit more _silent _than usual?" Raj pondered aloud.

"Soundless." Clam nodded in agreement.

* * *

Lazlo dragged a stuffed suitcase across camp and up the steps to Pinto cabin. Inside, Edward sat alone on his bed, organizing his summer clothes and folding each individual item with precision. This allowed him to concentrate on something else other than the events of the day, and of course the burning thought of Lazlo in general. It was all too confusing.

Lazlo looked around the room and noticed Chip and Skip's absence, then remembered that "The end of Camp Kidney" campfire was taking place down by the lake.

He himself had wanted to join in on the campfire fun, but knew that he and Edward needed to get their belongings in order first.

He dragged his suitcase across the wooden floor and then plopped it up onto Edward's bed.

The platypus was still concentrating hard on color-coordinating his socks, pretending not to notice Lazlo's obvious presence.

Lazlo rocked back and forth for a moment on his toes before decided to crawl up onto the bed along with his suitcase. The mattress springs squeaked loudly in reaction to the extra added weight and Edward lost focus. He glared across the bed at the monkey, who sat there happily staring back.

"Oh I know! Let's see who can go the longest without blinking!" Lazlo grew excited and leaned closer, eyeballs wide as saucers.

Edward had to hold himself back from attacking the ignorant monkey. He sarcastically blinked ten times in a row to end the silly game.

"Cool beans, I win! Wanna play again? I'll give you a head start!" Lazlo was unfazed.

Edward gripped a pair of socks between his fists, then took a deep breath and set them down into his suitcase neatly.

Lazlo could tell he'd been acting weird, but Edward was usually a complex kid to begin with, so most of the time Lazlo pretended not to notice the silent-spells. Tonight was different though, they should be having fun on their last night! Making more happy memories to look back on!

He opened his suitcase and began pulling out random clothing and toys he'd brought over with him from Jelly Cabin.

Edward couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't just packed at his own cabin instead of hauling all of his things over to his. He watched as Lazlo began to wad tee-shirts and pants together and stuff them into hit and miss sections in his bag. Edward couldn't help but cringe. "You pack like a chronic idiot."

Lazlo looked up from his packing, "haha, really?" He was happy to hear some words come out of the platypus's mouth finally.

Edward sighed and crawled over to Lazlo's end of the bed, sitting down cross-legged beside him. "Move over. Let me show you how it's done."

Lazlo watched like a curious child as Edward un-waded the clothing and folded them orderly by size and color.

"Wow, you're really good at that!" The monkey exclaimed once Edward was finished.

"Yeah, yeah….you owe me for doing your packing for you."

As Edward crawled back across the bed to complete his own packing duties, Lazlo spotted a red-haired doll peeking out from the edge of the bed-sheets.

"Aw, don't forget Veronica!" The monkey picked her up and hugged her caringly. "She'd be lost without you!"

Edward gasped and yanked her out of Lazlo's arms, pulling her close to him aggressively, but with deep and obvious affection as well. "….Thanks."

Things were quiet for a moment. Outside, crickets chirped as the camp grew dark.

Lazlo looked around the cabin, now empty except for the beds and the small nightstands. Everything had been boxed up and ready to be shipped away.

It hadn't really dawned on him that camp was actually ending. He knew it in his mind, but refused to let it sink in! But after seeing Veronica's smiling face disappear into Edward's luggage and the cold emptiness of Pinto Cabin wrapping around him, he felt it; that feeling everyone gets when something wonderful is about to end.

He looked back at Edward, who had finally gotten the latch to close on his suitcase. His heart sank and rose at the same time. A complex emotion he wasn't familiar with.

He opened his mouth to speak, "I'm really gunna miss--…."

Edward peered across the bed at the monkey, waiting for him to finish.

"……."

"Miss _what_?" Edward finally had to ask after almost 5 minutes with no continuance to Lazlo's sentence.

Lazlo just shook his head and smiled. "Never mind. Hey, we're done packing!"

Just as Lazlo let these words leave his lips, the cabin door swung open revealing an overly exasperated Slinkman! "You boys are in _**MAJOR **_trouble!"

Lazlo and Edward just blinked.

Slinkman continued. "I've searched the entire camp for you two! Had to miss the first half of the traditional Goodbye Camp Kidney Campfire and _everything_!! Are your belongings ready yet?!! Lumpus is already going over the check-off list as we speak!"

It wasn't like the calm and passive Slinkman to barge into a cabin and make a ruckus, but Lazlo and Edward were on their feet by now carrying their suitcases out the front door.

"Sorry Mr. Slinkman! We….just had _**so **_much stuff! We had to spend extra time getting it all together!" Lazlo tried to sound apologetic as he lied with terrible skill.

Slinkman tapped his foot on the wood floorboards, then slowly started settling down. "Oh, it's alright Lazlo. I'm not mad, just stressed. You have no idea what kind of upset Lumpus gets into on packing day--"

"_**SLINKMAN**_!!!!!!!" An enormous scream was heard from outside. Pinto cabin trembled.

"Oh great, this is exactly the kind of thing I was worried about…!" Slinkman ran over to the two boys and hurried them outside the cabin and towards the flagpole. "Get your things over there and I'll deal with Lumpus!"

Lazlo and Edward did as they were told and literally threw their suitcases in front of them to make it to the flagpole in time.

"SLINKMAN, _**WHERE **_ARE YOU?!!" Lumpus was calling for the slug from his quarters. After a moment of silence, his left eye started twitching. "Ugh, fine! I guess if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself!" The moose began marching out his front door with rage in his eyes, holding the check-off list in one hand and a sledgehammer in the other.

Slinkman ran in front of the scoutmaster and tried to act casual. "Uhm, what's the problem sir?"

"Slinky! There you are! _**I'LL **_tell you what the problem is!! LOOK AT THIS!" Lumpus shoved the list in front of Slinkman's bobbing eyes.

The slug took the list and then smiled. "Oh! There seems to be a spelling mistake on here…" He took out a pen and started scribbling.

Lumpus grabbed it back before he could finish. "No, Slinkman! Not a spelling mistake!! Two campers names are _**missing **_checks on here!! ….See….right here!" He pointed to Lazlo and Edward's names. "THERE!!! Where _**ARE **_these beans?!!"

Slinkman began to sweat, then looked over his shoulder and found relief in seeing Lazlo waving happily back at him, he and Edward both sitting on top of their suitcases under the flagpole.

"Right over there, sir! Edward and Lazlo! You see, nothing to worry about! I simply forgot to check off their names from earlier!" As Slinkman said this, he snuck his pen in-between Lumpus's arms and put checks by their names cautiously.

Lumpus read the list over again, then rolled his eyes. "….Monkey boy and pollywog, eh?" He sneered over at the boys, who just stared back at him. Lazlo looked pleased.

Finally after a second or two, Lumpus bent down and whispered to Slinkman secretively. "Keep an eye on those two… They're trouble! Nothing but trouble! Especially that _Lazlo _feller'…."

Slinkman blinked, "…Of course, sir…"

The moose made a 'humph' noise and trudged back to his cabin. Before he entered, he turned back around, pointing at all of them menacingly. "AND _WHY _AREN'T YOU ALL AT THE CAMPFIRE!! GET OVER THERE NOW!! IT'S A TRADITION!!"

Slinkman lifted a finger to speak. "Yes, but, um...sir? Aren't you going to be joining us also? After all, you just said it's a tradition."

"You _know _I would, but I've got a date with a bathtub and a lazi-boy chair that I just _can't _cancel again!"

The slug wallowed for a moment. "Sir, I really think you should--"

"I SAID GO TO THE CAMPFIRE AND LET ME HAVE MY PEACE!!! GAHHSHH!!"

Lazlo jumped up and waved. "Loud and clear, Scoutmaster Lumpus!!"

The door was slammed before the moose could hear the monkey's loyal response.

Slinkman sighed and then walked over to the boys as he wiped his forehead with a hanky. "That was close, you two, but thank you for getting your luggage taken care of before Lumpus really got out of control!"

"No problem, Mr. Slinkman!" Lazlo smiled.

"You should hurry over to the campfire now! I'll be there in a jiffy!" Slinkman saluted them and then hopped off.

Lazlo saluted back, then glanced over at Edward who was staring glumly at the ground. He nudged him in the arm gently. "Wanna go to the campfire? See everyone?"

Edward sighed. "….I guess. Better than doing nothing for the rest of the night."

"It'll be fun!" Lazlo grabbed his hand and ran off towards the lake to join the other scouts.

Edward didn't really know _what _he wanted anymore, but a burning feeling inside him pressed him to tag along with Lazlo as long as he had time to. As much as he hated pointless traditional campfires and all the other scouts, the evening was dark and Lazlo's hand was warm, and his gut told him to hold on tight and pretend that the next day wouldn't come.

[TBC


	4. A Campfire, A Bed, and The Truth

**Chapter Four**

**A Campfire, a Bed, and the Truth**

And so the campfire appeared in front of them through the clearing.

All the scouts greeted Lazlo and Edward with nods and smiles.

Everyone was there! Edward was surprised. These get-togethers were usually limited to a certain number of scouts, but tonight the entire camp was there…minus a certain Scoutmaster, but when was that ever a problem?

Lazlo took a seat beside Raj and Clam and motioned for Edward to join him.

The platypus did so, but held a glare smudged across his face as he walked past the other scouts.

"Awesome! Now everyone is here!" Ping-Pong grinned, signaling that he'd be the ring-leader of the group for the evening. "We were just talking about our favorite moments at camp this summer!"

Lazlo immediately jumped up. "Oh Cool!! Can I say mine?"

Raj stood up quickly. "Wait a minute, I believe it was _my _turn before you arrived, Lazlo. If you don't mind, of course."

Lazlo shook his head, ears flapping. "Oh no, Raj, go right ahead!"

Edward could feel a groan about to escape his throat. He sat through everyone's sappy discussions and laughs, all the while trying to think of his own favorite moments.

Did he really have any?

He slowly realized that he in fact _did_, but they were all consumed with nothing but Lazlo! All the fun times he'd had were spent with the monkey, and even Raj and Clam were involved at times too.

_Ugh, they better not ask me to share any of these moments. I'd rather go cliff diving without a rope!_

"How about you, Edward? What was your favorite moment at camp?" Ping-Pong's voice invaded Edward's thoughts. It seemed he had just jinxed himself.

The platypus's face turned red. "Uh……"

He peeked over at Lazlo, who was nodding with encouragement for him to say something.

He looked back at everyone else, all their eyes on him. He ended up staring into the flares of the campfire to settle the nervousness he'd built up.

_Oh come on, Edward! Pull yourself together! These are the same retards you've known and outsmarted all summer! You're better then all of them! You've got nothin' to lose here. _He tried to prep himself.

Finally he cleared his throat. "…Well….I guess my favorite moment would have to be….." He paused again.

"…Would have to be…?" Dave and Ping-Pong both pressured him impatiently.

"Hush, I was just building dramatic effect!" Edward flapped his hand at the twins, still in a panic. _Crap, what do I say??!! _

Almost instinctively, Lazlo leaned in. "….how about _all _the moments? That's what my answer would be!"

Edward raised an eyebrow at the monkey, then rolled his eyes. "Yeah… Sure, all of the moments I guess. They're all my favorite."

This seemed to satisfy the other campers, who nodded to one another and discussed the tender notion amongst themselves.

Edward sighed in relief. "Thanks Laz."

"Happy to help!" The monkey grinned.

"You totally cheated! I saw it!" Raj snarled from the other side of Lazlo.

Edward gave the elephant a deadly scowl. "What was that, pink boy?"

"Oh, you know _darn right _what I said!"

Before an argument could break loose, Slinkman came into the clearing from the bushes, humming a tune. "Good evening, Bean Scouts!"

"Good evening, Mr. Slinkman." All the scouts greeted in unison.

The slug nodded. "Now, as you all know, tonight is your last night here at good ol' Camp Kidney! I know it's hard to say goodbye, but just remember, we've had 3 full months of fun and games, friends, and nature! You'll remember this summer for the rest of your lives!"

"What's that weird looking man talking about?" Chip leaned over to his brother.

Skip shrugged. "I dunno! I think it might be mores code or something."

"Who's Mores?" A pig questioned from the back of the group, who'd been eavesdropping on the beetle's conversation.

"Smores?! Oh my gosh, someone brought smores!" Samson wailed with excitement after overhearing the pig, and eventually everyone was in a commotion about where the missing smores were at.

Edward crossed his arms, cowering in disgust. _I'm surrounded by losers._

"And now, without further ado, I'd like to lead all of you in a few last campfire songs before we all head off to our cabins for the night." Slinkman enjoyed his job a little too much sometimes, as any assistant scoutmaster should. Lazlo admired this.

As Slinkman pulled out his guitar and took a seat on a tree-stump in front of the fire, Edward grew bored again. More silly camp traditions. He was sick of them all.

The slug led the scouts in Kum By Ya and Edward felt like he was going to rip his ears off.

Lazlo sang loudly and proudly, as he usually did. After a few songs had passed, he noticed Edward slouched over in misery and nudged the platypus with care, trying to urge some interest.

Edward peered up at him. Lazlo insisted a smile as he sang "The more we get together, the happier we'll be" with everyone else.

Edward blushed, looked away, then looked back, cringed when he saw Lazlo's goofy grin still greeting him, and finally started singing along to satisfy the primate.

Some of the scouts noticed this and in time grew amazed at how much of a positive effect Lazlo had on the usually unhappy platypus.

* * *

There was just enough time after the songs ended to run around with friends before lights out.

"Lazlo! Come and help us catch these cute little things with lights floating around everywhere!" Raj hopped up and down, trying to cheer his monkey friend into joining him and Clam in one last game.

Lazlo smiled. "Alright! Can Edward come too?"

Raj, of course, was hesitant on this, but after seeing Clam out of the corner of his eye with an edgy expression on his face, as if to say "Remember our conversation from earlier, Raj?" , he gave up his stubbornness quickly and nodded. "Sure, I don't mind."

Lazlo got to his feet. "Hurrah! Come on, Edward!"

Edward stayed glued to the log. "That's okay. You go ahead, I'm fine here."

Lazlo was worried that Edward was still having a bad time, but then noticed that he no longer looked annoyed as he did earlier. He instead looked calm and a bit drowsy. He must have been tired, and Lazlo understood this. "Okay, I'll be back! If you'll wait for me..?"

Edward smirked. "What else have I got better to do?"

This meant yes, of course. Lazlo smiled and then ran off with Raj and Clam.

"Look! I caught one! Aww, it's adorable! What do you think they are, Lazlo?" Edward listened to Raj's voice off in the distance.

"They're fireflies, Raj! You know, bugs!" Lazlo replied to the elephant with enthusiasm.

Clam had to emphasize. "Insects!"

After a moment, a loud, girlish scream was heard echoing through the trees.

Edward couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

He watched as the three friends ran around in the trees and through the fields by the lake, laughing and enjoying themselves. Truth be told, he was stunned with himself. It usually irritated him when Lazlo went off to play with Raj and Clam, but this time he'd actually felt compassion for the three friends who hadn't gotten any time to spend with each other on their last day of camp.

The thing of it was, Lazlo gave too much attention to him. Sometimes it was better for him to insist that the monkey spend more time with his other friends, even though Edward wanted Lazlo all to himself most of the time. A large portion, anyway.

It was nice watching Lazlo jump around, being the happy and carefree person he was. Just an ignorant little kid, really. Edward basked in the thought. He closed his eyes and found tranquility sitting there on the log by the fire, listening to the sounds of scouts running around in the dark playing, and the nighttime creatures coming out to greet the world.

Maybe, he thought, Camp Kidney wasn't so bad after all?

His eyes jolted open after he thought about this and he shook the proposal away, almost ashamed with himself that he'd for a moment believed that.

He closed his eyes again. The darkness behind his eyelids was welcoming. He sat there dozing with his chin in his hands and a half grin across his face until a warm body pressed up against his back, stirring him.

He looked over his shoulder to find Lazlo nuzzled up in-between his shoulder blades.

"I thought you were with Raj and Clam."

"I was!" Lazlo insisted. "It's been over an hour, silly! They went back to the cabin already!"

Edward sat up straight. "What!? It's been that long _already_?!"

Lazlo giggled and swung his legs over the log to sit beside the platypus. "You must have fallen asleep!"

Edward denied it. "I was _not _asleep. I was….resting my eyes for a second."

Lazlo chuckled again. "It must have been a _long _second!"

Edward turned away. "You're _impossible_! I really don't feel like arguing right now!"

The clearing was so dim. All that was left of the campfire were tiny embers. The two boys sat there on the log staring down at the glowing ashes. The night was cool and refreshing, much better than the boiling heat from that afternoon.

Lazlo tilted his head upward. "Wow, look!"

Edward jumped at the sudden sound of words and looked up to see what the fuss was about.

Above the treetops, the sky was dotted with glimmering stars across the heavens. Beautiful.

It was quiet again as they both admired the sight.

"I think this is the best part about being in nature. You get the best seat in the house to the greatest show on earth, the way it was _supposed _to be seen! No cities or lots of people around to ruin it. Just us and the stars. It makes you think about how small we are compared to…everything! And yet, we all sorta fit into it all." Lazlo spoke with profound intellect.

Edward had never before heard Lazlo speak with such acumen. He grinned. "You're definitely a tree-hugging hippy, Lazlo…"

The monkey laughed and lifted two fingers in a peace sign.

Edward brought his knees up to his chin and hugged his legs as they continued to watch the solar system dance overhead.

Lazlo picked out an opportune moment to scoot over closer to Edward, until their shoulders were resting against one another.

Edward felt secure in the dark. The monkey couldn't see his face. For once, he didn't have to act annoyed or embarrassed. He didn't have to pretend. No one else could judge him. He enjoyed the invisibility.

He finally turned his head to look over at Lazlo, who was barely detectable in the dimly lit scene.

He could make out the outline of his face.

It was a good thing it was difficult to see anything in that darkness, because if it had been visible, Edward's expression would have had the words of every emotion he was feeling scribbled across his face, open to the world.

But he was sure Laz couldn't see a thing.

After awhile though, he could hear the monkey trying to hide laughter.

He blinked, "What's so funny?"

Lazlo leaned closer. "Nothing, you've just never looked at me like that before."

Edward's eyes widened once he realized that Lazlo could see him perfectly! Humiliation looming over him, he turned away quickly. "_**SO!?**_"

The monkey laughed a bit more under his breath and his heart softened.

For a second Edward wished he could disappear, but then feeling the burn of Lazlo's stare on his back forced him to turn back around.

Lazlo seemed so wise all of a sudden. It made Edward feel small and submissive. The monkey was studying his face intimately, seemingly memorizing each line and curvature. There was no way to erase what was already there, and Lazlo saw everything clearly. The expression. The truth.

Both their eyes locked. Brown and blue pools experiencing the most sincere communication they'd ever passed between one another.

Lazlo smiled calmly. "….I can see _**you, **_Edward."

That was it. The final straw. Edward couldn't handle it anymore! He'd tried. He'd failed. What was the use of pretending anymore? He pushed his face forward and kissed Lazlo's lips with all the hidden valor he had in him.

Caught off guard, Lazlo had to tilt in closer to return the kiss.

They'd done this before, sure. Kissing was nothing new.

But it was much different this time. It'd _never _been like this.

It was deeper, more meaningful, supported with new honesty.

Was it because they both knew that they might never see each other again after tomorrow?

Maybe.

Or it could have just been because they loved each other, and never really understood how _much _until that very instant.

When they broke the kiss, they didn't turn away like embarrassed kids. Instead they just smiled at each other in an acceptance. Edward could have died right there and been happy and satisfied with his life. But as the moment dwindled away and he buried his face into Lazlo's shirt to hide whatever else was left written there, Edward had never before wanted to continue living _so _much.

* * *

The walk back to the cabins was silent, but fulfilling. They walked with separate togetherness.

When they got to the point where they had to go different directions to get back to their own cabins, they stopped, unsure what to do next.

They'd been at this parting point on other nights too, and it'd been easy to toss out a simple goodnight and then walk back to their own beds, looking forward to another day ahead of them.

But tonight, of course, was unlike the others.

Edward opened his mouth to say something, but then decided otherwise. Lazlo looked around at the other cabins, already dark and quiet.

The two looked over at one another, then grinned.

"I guess….I'll see you tomorrow?" Edward spoke finally.

Lazlo nodded. "Of course!"

"You'll be here, right?…. In the morning?" The platypus kicked up a rock in the gravel with the tip of his shoe.

Lazlo wore a kindhearted expression. "I won't leave until you leave! I promise!"

"You _better _not! Or I'll have to hunt you down!" Although Edward said this with hostility, he ended the threat with a genuine smile, one that was rarely seen.

The thought of the word "leave" really tore at his stomach though as he turned to walk toward Pinto cabin. "….Goodnight."

Lazlo backed up slowly. "..Night."

The two walked gingerly away from each other, almost at a snail's pace.

As Edward's feet carried him further and further away, he battled with his mind.

_Just ask! Do it! You've never done it before, you might never get to do it again. So just ask!! _

This was over an issue he'd already wanted to face, but couldn't.

Finally, he stopped himself, took a deep agonizing breath, and turned back around with clutched fists. "Wait!"

To his surprise, the monkey was already standing beside him with a self-conscious look, playing with the edge of his shirt. "……Hey, You wanna sleep--"

"--Can I stay with you tonight!?" Edward blurted the question out quickly to ease the awkwardness of Lazlo having to finish the question himself. It wouldn't have sounded right coming from the naive monkey.

Lazlo gazed at him with a puppy-dog-like face, nodding.

"Not like _**that**_, of course!" Edward had to make sure Lazlo wasn't thinking of anything shady. But the monkey just tilted his head with curiosity. "Like what?"

Edward slumped over. "….Nothin'." He felt a bit ridiculous even _considering _that Lazlo would mean _**that **_kind of 'sleep over'. Before the gut-churning images of the thought crossed Edward's mind, he was greeted by Lazlo's open hand outstretched for him.

He took a small sigh of relief, then took the open hand and followed Laz back to Jelly Cabin.

They didn't bother turning on a light when they arrived. Raj and Clam were already asleep and they didn't want to cause any commotion…even though Lazlo _did _trip over every single object they came in contact with, making enough noise to wake a giant. Edward could have died from the anxiety. The thought of being caught by either of the monkey's pals was humiliating enough in itself! But the two managed to make it across the cabin to Lazlo's bunk without either Raj or Clam rousing.

Edward kicked off his shoes and looked across the dark room at Lazlo, who was doing the same. There was really no need for pj's. They'd already packed them anyway. Sleeping in day clothes was no problem.

Lazlo crawled up onto his bunk and fluffed up the pillow.

Edward was suddenly so unsure of himself. They'd never spent the night together before. It was a new experience for the both of them. This wasn't like a little nap in the middle of the day! No, this would involve much more intimate contact, wouldn't it?

Edward must have looked like a ripe red apple by then.

Lazlo tapped Edward on the shoulder, knocking him out of his nervous spell long enough for Lazlo to pull him onto the bed and into the covers.

Still a bit shaky, Edward tried to calm down. It was uncomfortable at first. Neither of them said anything as they nuzzled into the blankets, which made it all the more inept.

"Isn't this how we started the day?" Lazlo finally whispered, giggling.

Edward thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think so, why?"

"It's just kinda funny when you think about it!"

Edward shot a daggered glance towards the monkey, who made absolutely no sense. "Just don't talk."

Lazlo buttoned his lips like a locked door, but the silence only lasted briefly before laughter escaped them again.

Edward rolled his eyes, ready to smack him in the jaw. "Why are you still laughing? It's not even funny!"

The monkey finally calmed down, "I don't know, I just like this!"

Edward grew more frustrated. Did Lazlo mean he liked sleeping together? If so, Edward would have gladly begged to differ. He felt like he was at a slumber party and got stuck sleeping next to the one kid out of the bunch who wouldn't shut up when it was time to go to sleep. This wasn't how his brothers had explained sleeping with someone was at all!

Lazlo was now composed, but still held a smile. That smile could have brought ships home from sea had it been sitting on a cliff by the ocean. He stared over at the angry platypus and thought of the millions of things he wanted to talk to him about. So many things he wanted to say, but didn't know where to begin!

"Quit smilin' like that, would yah? It's creepin' me out!"

"Sorry Edward, I'm just really happy!"

The platypus sunk into the pillow more. "You're always happy. About what, I never know."

Lazlo bit his bottom lip, thinking. The answer was simple, but he wanted to say it right. "Well…I guess I just like the way I feel when I'm with you. I'm a gazillion times happier than I ever am with anyone else!"

Edward, despite the childish tone Lazlo had said this in, enjoyed the comment and wanted to say something innocently meaningful in return, but couldn't find the words for it. He ended up just laying there staring up into Lazlo's face, examining his features and melting in his own imagination. How on earth was he going to be able to say goodbye to that annoyingly loveable grin in the morning? It should be easy, but he just couldn't do it.

Lazlo, noticing the turmoil building, hesitantly reached over through the covers and wrapped his arms around Edward's waist, pulling him as close to him as possible, their chests pressing together securely. It was an action that happened too fast to have a reaction to, and Edward just allowed the monkey to have his way, soon finding that there was _no _room to breathe. But that was alright, because he was too scared to breathe. He curled down below Lazlo's chin and stared solemnly into his shirt collar, breathing on the monkey's neck.

The warm breath gave Lazlo the chills.

So many things raced through Edward's mind. He didn't want to move or speak. He just wanted to lay there like that for as long as possible.

"…I'm so tired." Lazlo whined after a period of silence.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Go to sleep then."

"I don't want to." Lazlo asserted.

The platypus peered up at him, their faces side by side now. "Why not? If you're so tired…" He felt exhausted too, but couldn't find it in him to sleep yet.

Lazlo had his eyes closed. "I can't go to sleep, cause if I do, then it'll be morning when I wake up, and then…--"

He was interrupted by Edward forcefully collecting his arms around the monkey's neck and embracing him tightly to end the unfriendly sentence. "Shut up. Tomorrow doesn't exist."

Lazlo thought about this. "Really?"

Edward smirked, his face still hidden in Lazlo's shoulder. "Yeah, really."

"Like a parallel universe! Cool!" The monkey could feel hot tears soaking through his shirt. "….Edward?"

The platypus sniffed and made a muffled response that sounded something like "Mm?"

Lazlo pretended not to know Edward was crying. He knew he was trying to hide it. Edward always acted so tough and compassionless, but Lazlo wasn't stupid. He knew the platypus better than he let on, and he understood how Edward must have been feeling all day, because he felt the same. He shook away the unpleasant sadness and hugged the boy more securely.

The night was flooded with a bittersweet atmosphere.

The crickets still chirped outside and the clock on Lazlo's nightstand still ticked on. Raj and Clam dreamed peacefully on the other side of the room. And the Earth still spun slowly and endlessly around them.

Time wouldn't kindly stop for anyone. That's how life is, unfair or not.

Lazlo let Edward drench his shirt with the sour anguish he had been holding in all day. He didn't try to say anything or move a muscle. He just laid there in the bunk under the cheap Camp Kidney quilts and let Edward spill his guts out quietly without words.

It wasn't long before Edward had dried his eyes, buried himself into Lazlo's warm shoulder, and made himself forget about everything.

Both of them fell asleep eventually, after a small little whisper escaped Lazlo's lips and Edward didn't hear it because he was too far lost in his own sleep to notice anything. But even though his spirit was low, the sleep he endured was the best he'd ever experienced; laying pressed into Lazlo's chest, listening to the rhythm of heartbeat and being cradled by the up and down motion of delicate breathing. He dreamed happily for once. He heard Lazlo say something, somewhere in the back of his mind.

"I love you."

Such relieving words.

[TBC


	5. Good Morning, Valediction!

**Chapter Five**

**Good Morning, Valediction!**

The room was submerged in sunlight. The warmth of the un-air-conditioned cabin was so hot that there was barley enough oxygen to breathe!

Night had ended too soon for Edward, who pried his eyes open slowly to attempt to greet the morning with a scowl. The first thing he laid sight on was a lightly colored tee-shirt pressed up against his nose. He had to close his eyes again, blinking a few times, trying to remember where he was and why he was there.

Finally, he recollected the events from the night before and then bit his lip with a little bit of astonishment. Had he really stayed with Lazlo in Jelly Cabin all night?

He peered upwards to see Lazlo's peaceful resting face decorated with shadows from the sun as he breathed gently and silently above him. The monkey's arms were loosely dangled around Edward's waist, a sign that they hadn't moved much during the night.

Edward trailed his eyes back down to the tee-shirt inches from his face. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against the sturdy chest hidden behind the tee, closing his eyes.

What day was it?

Someone yawned from across the room.

The platypus winced when he realized that the day he'd pretended wouldn't come had actually came. Today was the day he would go home. And today was the day he'd have to say goodbye.

He took a breath and held Lazlo's scent in for as long as possible, then let it out reluctantly. He again stared up into the monkey's sleeping face. His stomach twisted with crazy emotions he'd for so long tried to ignore. He moved up further onto the single pillow until their faces were close. He grinned slightly, "…Hey Laz--"

---"AHH!! What on _**earth**_??!!" A voice broke through the calm atmosphere, interrupting what Edward hoped would have been a tender moment.

Lazlo sighed a bit and opened his eyes, blinking a few times to bring his vision into focus. Above him, Raj, looking very domineering and angry, had his hands on his hips.

"..Good morning, Raj!" He paused to stretch innocently, "What's up?"

The elephant turned red. "I'll tell you _**what's up**_!! There is a _**BED BUG **_in your sheets!!"

Lazlo blinked and looked over at Edward, who had the blankets clutched over him now. He peered out over the top of the sheets half embarrassed and half pissed off.

Lazlo giggled. "That's not a bed bug, Raj! That's a platypus!"

Raj blew steam out of his ears. "I don't care _**what **_he is!! The point is, why is he here in our cabin this early in the morning??! In _**YOUR **_bed?!! Did he….stay here _**all night**_!!!!???"

Lazlo lifted a finger. "Well, he--"

Raj looked faint. "I don't want to hear it, Lazlo!! Arrggh….the horror of it all!"

Lazlo stuck out his bottom lip. "But Raj, we didn't do anything bad!"

The elephant ignored him.

Clam, at this point, peeked his eyes open having been stirred by all the commotion.

Lazlo was about to try explaining the situation when suddenly Edward jumped up out of the covers and threw his hands over the monkey's mouth to shut him up.

"What does it matter, _elephant boy_? Me being here didn't _**bother **_you!"

Raj grew stubborn. "Oh, but it _did_!!" He wagged his finger at the platypus. "You simply _**being **_in this cabin, in _**THAT **_bed, bothers me!! So if you don't mind…why don't you head back over to your own cabin and we'll just pretend like I didn't wake up to these festivities, yes?"

Clam was now sitting up in his bunk with crossed arms, exasperated with the elephant.

Lazlo just twiddled his thumbs in a panic.

Edward stood up on top of the bed now and held out a fist. "That's _**IT**_!!! You have been a _**JERK **_to me for the _**LAST TIME**_, pal!!!"

Raj held a fighting stance and hopped back and forth on both heels. "BRING IT ON, LITTLE MAN!!"

The final stream of sentences brought Clam to his feet and across the room. He proceeded to tackle Raj to the floor boards and pin him there.

The elephant jerked around, trying to escape. "CLAM!! RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT!!!"

"Nuh-uh!" Clam turned down the request.

"Alright! This is good! Hold him there while I _pound _him!!" Edward looked as though he were about the charge into battle.

"Stop!! Wait!! Can't we talk this over calmly and rationally?!" Lazlo jumped up and grabbed onto Edward's waist, trying to pull him back down onto the bed.

It seemed that a fight was about to commence until all of a sudden the uproar was bluntly interrupted by Lumpus's voice over the loud-speaker outside, sounding rather chipper. "Good merry wonderful gorgeous morning, Bean Scouts! Up and At-em'! Just a _little _reminder that parents and taxi's will be arriving shortly, and the bus will be leaving for the airport in 45 minutes! So…. GET YOUR BUTTS OUT OF BED AND GET OUT OF HERE!! …… And have a nice life!"

The boys glanced at one another, then sighed in unison, remembering the fate of the morning and losing interest in their war.

Clam released Raj with a displeased glare. The elephant just brushed his nightclothes off, unfazed.

"_Next time_, pink boy." Edward threatened.

Raj rolled his eyes. "Oh _Twiddly Dee_, Edward!"

Clam and Lazlo glanced at each other, then shrugged. They both knew deep down that all 4 of them would miss these energetic disputes.

* * *

The morning atmosphere couldn't have been more pleasant, but at the same time, unpleasant. It was a bright sunny day, but no one could enjoy it. Instead, scouts put on forced grins, left their cabins for the last time, and went to wait in the front of camp for departure. 

Usually, parents would come to pick their kids up, but other scouts who lived further away had to wait for taxi's to drive them across county, or in Edward and Lazlo's case, take the bus to the airport to catch a plane pre-scheduled by their parents to take them home.

Edward had made his way back over to Pinto Cabin to grab the rest of his things and see if Chip and Skip were still around. As much as he hated the two dirt-infested twins, they _were _his cabin-mates and he would feel wrong leaving without saying goodbye.

When Edward opened the screen door, as expected the dung beetles were still inside. They looked as though they were undergoing a search for something throughout the entire cabin.

"What are you two losers looking for?" Edward headed across the room to his bed casually.

Chip and Skip both froze in their places for a moment, before rushing over to embrace the platypus with sappy tears in their eyes. "Oh Edward!!!! We thought you went away already!!" The two of them sobbed.

Edward twitched. "Obviously I'm still here, so you can stop with the waterworks!"

The dung's released their cabin-mate. "We're glad you're still here, because we have a present for you!"

Edward had already begun stuffing things into a carry-on backpack he pulled from behind his bed. "Well ain't that special….why on _earth _did you get me a pres--" Suddenly, Chip shoved a messy piece of paper into Edward's face. "Hey!! What the-!" He grabbed the paper and glanced over it. His expression softened.

Chip stood with a hopeful expression. "Do you like it?"

"It's a goodbye present!" Skip added.

The paper had a scribbled painting of three blobs on it, two being purple and one being much smaller and yellow. This had to have been the Dung's and Edward. Although the globs were….a bit far from artistic, Edward could tell that the twins had put a lot of effort into it.

He sighed. "You two idiots have too much time on your hands. …but thanks."

The twins once again grabbed Edward into a sad embrace. "WE'LL MISS YOU, EDWARD!!!"

The platypus rolled his eyes, but in a favorable way.

The tender moment with the Pinto Beans lasted a few more seconds, before Edward grew impatient and broke free from the hug.

Before he walked out the door, he took a long last look at the cabin he'd called home for the past 3 months. "What a dump. I can't believe I survived this all summer." As he opened the screen door, he stopped again and looked over his shoulder. Chip and Skip were still standing inside with sad faces. They waved at him. He smiled slightly and waved back. "See yah around."

It was bittersweet, walking out of Pinto Cabin. Not sentimental, but then again, what was?

The platypus walked over to Jelly Cabin and stood outside. He didn't feel like going in and having another aggravatingly heartfelt moment, so he leaned against a nearby tree and waited for the Jellies to emerge from inside.

Meanwhile, Raj, Clam, and Lazlo all stood inside by the door looking on at their home away from home.

Lazlo sniffed. "…You know, guys….I'm _really _gunna miss it."

Clam nodded. "Ehh…pine for."

The two friends glanced over at Raj, who had tears in his eyes.

"What about you, buddy? Are you sad to leave too?" Lazlo asked.

Raj held a sturdy look. "No! ….I do not feel _sad_. I just feel…." He paused for a moment before falling to his knees dramatically. "…MISERABLE!!"

The three friends sniffled together. The sun from outside beamed through the screen door and blazed at Lazlo's back, almost as if it were saying time to move on. The monkey understood this and stepped forward.

"Okay, guys… next summer! We'll be here next summer! And it'll be even _better _than before!" He stuck his hand out in front of him. "Jelly Buddies for life!"

Clam perked up and put his hand on top of Lazlo's. "Jellies!"

They both looked at Raj, who was still wiping away some tears. The elephant finally put on a grin and placed his hand over theirs, completing the trio. "Buddies for life!"

Lazlo opened Jelly Cabin's door for the last time and the three friends turned and walked out without another word.

When the screen door slammed behind him, Lazlo winced. Reality was finally setting in on him, which was unusual because he was ordinarily off in his own imagination oblivious to the harsh truths life can muster. But perhaps this meant that he was growing up a little bit.

Raj and Clam waited for him at the bottom of the steps. He smiled, trying not to show any negative emotion, and hopped down to join them.

Once both feet were planted firmly on the ground, he lifted his eyes and spotted Edward standing morose a few feet away.

Edward had been hesitant to approach them. After all, the Jellies all looked inexplicably depressed, which wasn't normal for them in the least. But it was _that _depressed expression on Lazlo's face that really tore at his chest and encouraged him to solemnly walk over.

Raj tried to avoid eye contact while Clam did the opposite and waved cheerfully.

Lazlo grinned. "….You ready?"

Edward rolled his eyes, trying to shun any sad talk. "Oh _brother_, you guys make me sick. _Yes_, I'm ready! You make it sound like we're headed to the morgue or somethin'!"

Lazlo looked over at both Raj and Clam with a puzzled look and they shrugged in reply.

Edward blinked in exasperation. They obviously didn't know what a morgue was. "_Ugh_, let's just go!"

* * *

The front of camp was littered with bean scouts all over the place. Parents were already pulling up in their cars and rushing to embrace their boys and welcome them back into their lives. 

Touching, really. But not to Edward, who, as hard as he tried, couldn't help but look even more bothered and irritated than usual.

The four of them stood aloof on the sidelines while they watched the parade of adults flood Camp Kidney's gates.

Scoutmaster Lumpus, astonishingly, was at the head of the crowd shaking parents' hands and patting scouts' heads. He was the most cheerful he'd been all summer! Slinkman on the other hand stood at Lumpus's side waving goodbye to scouts with a tearful expression. At least one of them was sad to see the Beans go!

Raj, Clam, Lazlo, and Edward all knew that they wouldn't find their parents in the noisy swarm. Raj _would _be expecting a limo though, being from a well off family. He would be driven to the airport in style. Clam had managed to work out a negotiation with Raj, so he too would be taking the limo to the airport.

Lazlo would have been able to ride in style along with them, had it not been for Raj declaring earlier that he would have no platypus named Edward board his sacred vessel.

Because Lazlo wanted to see Edward off, he decided he would just take the bus with him. It wasn't all that bad.

Edward glared at the unfriendly yellow automobile with deep hatred. It was parked across camp looking ominous and appalling at him.

Before Edward could burn a hole through the side of the vehicle with his sinful glare, Slinkman bobbed over to the boys, still wiping away some tender-loving tears. "The bus is going to leave in about 10 minutes boys, so anyone who's due for a ride to the airport needs to be outside the door when the time comes. Just letting you know."

"Thanks Mr. Slinkman." Lazlo spoke with a low tone.

The slug smiled sympathetically, patting Lazlo's shoulder. "It's been a fun summer. You're a great camper, Jelly Bean."

Lazlo's bottom lip quivered. The sentence touched his heart.

Edward felt like throwing up.

Slinkman nodded to all of them and then returned to the crowd of parents.

They all sighed.

What a horrible day.

Raj tapped his foot on the ground anxiously, then grabbed Clam's wristwatch to check the time.

Lazlo leaned over to the elephant. "Are you okay, buddy? You look sorta antsy."

Raj twiddled his thumbs. "_Antsy_? I am not _antsy_….what ever do you mean by tha--"

Just then, a honking was heard from the front gate and a fancy pink bus with the words "Acorn Flats" written on the side rolled in through the crowd with Ms. Mucus at the wheel.

Raj yelped.

The pink bus doors opened and a troop of lovely young Squirrel Scouts marched out. Among them were Nina, Gretchen, and as expected, their ring-leader Patsy. Following them was a peppy-looking Mrs. Jane Doe, batting her eyelashes at the sunny sky obliviously.

Scoutmaster Lumpus could be heard making a ruckus across camp. "Slinkman, why are the Squirrel Scouts here??? I didn't dress properly for this!!"

Slinkman wore a dull expression. "Sir, I'm sure the girls aren't going to care."

Lumpus was crying now. "Not for the _girls_, Slinkman!! For _Ms. Doe_!! _Ms. Doooeee_, Slinkman!!!!"

Lazlo overheard this but let it fly over his head. "Why are the girls here?"

Clam looked up at Raj, who was shaking nervously. "….P-P-Patsy….said she…they….were…..and then….she…her..."

Edward clutched his fists. "AHHH! I can't take much more of this!!….He's _saying _that Patsy told him that the Squirrel's arranged for their parents to pick them up _here _because it's closer to the main road, and since Patsy has to wait for her dad Hoo-Ha to pick her up at Camp Kidney, she'll be waiting with Raj!"

Clam and Lazlo blinked. "Wow! I didn't know you understood gibberish, Edward!"

The platypus sneered at them and then turned to walk away. "I'm outta here. Squirrel Scouts make me sick. I'll be over there popping the tires on that damn bus if you need me."

"Hey, wait! Edward!" Lazlo chased after him and grabbed his wrist. "At least stay and say goodbye to them with us! It would be rude to just walk off and ignore them!"

Edward peered around Lazlo and saw the monkey's friends begin to scatter in different directions. "Why don't you tell that to them?"

They watched as Clam booked it into the crowd to escape. Just as Raj was about to do the same, a voice stopped him.

"Hey Raj."

The elephant trembled and looked over his shoulder to see Patsy standing there in front of him with a spirited innocence about her.

"O-Oh! Hey Patsy!"

The fluffy-haired mongoose looked down at her feet. "Thanks for not leaving without saying goodbye."

Raj nearly fainted. "O-Of course not! I mean--I wouldn't do that!"

She smiled at his tension.

"Hey Patsy, good to see you!" Lazlo trotted over to greet the girl who had for so long admired him from afar, but had never admitted it.

She blushed slightly. "Hey Lazlo! You're still here! I'm glad!" Just as she said this, a short 'humph' was heard. She looked behind Lazlo to see Edward standing a few feet away with his arms crossed. "Oh…I see Edward's still here too."

Lazlo smiled. "Yep! He wanted to say goodbye also!" Lazlo outstretched his arm and dragged the platypus over.

Edward stared into Patsy's expression. She was very pretty for a girl, he had to admit. But the fact that she had at one time harbored feelings for Lazlo created an undying loathe for the mongoose.

He gritted his teeth. "Yeah, have a nice life, chica."

Patsy glared without responding and turned back to Raj and Lazlo. "Summer's been awesome this year, huh guys? It's sad that it's already over."

Lazlo nodded in agreement, teary eyed. Raj just stood there timidly.

Patsy leaned forward towards the elephant. She wore a look on her face that frightened him, but at the same time reassured him. "Want to go wait together? My dad won't be here for awhile…"

Raj sweated. "Um…sure! Yes! …Ok!"

They both took a step closer to each other.

Lazlo gazed at them and grinned. He adored their young romance, it reminded him of those chick-flick movies Edward always had to watch when they would show them on movie nights earlier that summer. It warmed his soul to know that they were both happy. "I guess I'll see you next summer, Patsy?"

The mongoose turned to the monkey and smiled. "You bet, Laz! Take care of yourself." Without warning she jumped up and hugged the monkey tightly.

It was a form of farewell, but Edward didn't care and his face burned red with anger. "OK, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The platypus yanked Lazlo back towards him. Patsy blinked in confusion for a moment, then giggled. She still hadn't let the idea sink in that Lazlo and Edward had been significantly closer than usual the past few months.

Raj cleared his throat.

Patsy smiled up at Lazlo again before hopping over to the elephant's side. She reached for his hand and took it confidently. Raj's palm was clammy, but she didn't mind.

Lazlo and a pissed off Edward watched them walk off towards a tree stump away from the crowd. Raj looked back over his shoulder once or twice, seemingly telling them that he would be back later. Whether he would be or not, none of them were sure.

Laz turned to his companion and beamed.

Edward reached over and grabbed the monkey's hand and jerked him closer. The protective side of him was rarely seen, and Lazlo enjoyed it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Clam had been pushing his way through the hundreds of fussing mothers flocked together in mobs. 

When he finally managed to bound out of the herd, he bumped face first into a green-skinned girl with blonde hair, and it wasn't long before his cheeks were burning red. "Gretchen!"

"Ouch! ….What the heck, Clam! Watch where you're going!" The crocodile rubbed her forehead where she'd collided with the much smaller boy.

Clam grinned, then stood up and offered a hand to help her to her feet. "Uh…sorry."

"You should be! You almost gave me a concussion!" She barked, then looked around her. "Have you seen Patsy? Nina made me come find her…not that I care if I even see her again. She's been driving me crazy all summer!"

Clam knew exactly where Patsy was, but didn't want to blurt it out or else have Gretchen leave so soon. He stood there pretending to ponder for a good 5 minutes, until he finally shrugged. "Dunno."

Gretchen growled. "Well _**that's **_just great. Where's Lazlo and that elephant kid? Why aren't you with them? You usually are, aren't you?"

The rhino looked around him, then shrugged again. "Dunno."

Gretchen rolled her eyes. "Then what _do _you know?"

Clam had to think about this. He actually knew quite a lot for being such a short-worded boy! He was once dubbed a genius! But that was all better kept unsaid.

After a moment, the crocodile sighed. "I guess I'll just go look for everyone myself."

"Uh, wait!" Clam suddenly reached forward and grabbed Gretchen's hand. It was on accident, of course, but it didn't feel like it.

Gretchen blushed faintly. "_What_?"

Clam was beet red now. "…Look for them together!"

The crowd seemed to lessen a bit as they stood there facing each other.

"….I guess." Gretchen finally gave in.

* * *

As Raj and Clam spent their final moments of Camp together with two Squirrel scouts, Lazlo and Edward strode along through the trees towards the retched bus that would take them off into real life again. 

Slinkman was already preparing for departure. The luggage was loaded into the storage compartments below, and already a couple random Bean and Squirrel scouts waited outside the door.

Edward chewed at his lower lip as they approached. Was he aggravated or just sick at his stomach? It was difficult to tell. His hand was still clutched in Lazlo's and he squeezed it tightly, cutting off the circulation.

Lazlo noticed his tension, but wasn't sure what to say or do to fix it. He usually figured out a way, but Edward made everything a challenge. Challenging as he was though, the monkey still liked solving the problem.

When other scouts close by began to stare, Edward let go of the monkey's palm and crossed his arms in front of him, trying not to look too loving towards the other boy. He peeked up from his revulsion at Lazlo, who looked puzzled. Obviously. He couldn't except the monkey to understand what feeling like a wimp was like. He needed to get a grip on himself if he was going to make it to the airport and onto the plane in one piece.

The minutes dribbled by like molasses. Slinkman was doing something with the engine. Roaring and exhaust filled the late-summer air.

Lazlo scanned the premises around them for signs of his fellow Jellies to return to bid him farewell, but so far, they hadn't shown.

Edward stood leaned up against the vehicle with arms crossed and head down.

Lazlo had to take a minute to catch his breath, rocking on his heels apprehensively.

Edward didn't look at the monkey. "Would you settle down already? They ain't coming."

Lazlo slumped over. It was difficult to just separate with his best friends without properly saying goodbye! It just couldn't be done that way!

Just then, Slinkman opened the doors to the bus. "Ok, scouts. All aboard the home-bound express." He said this with less enthusiasm than intended.

Lazlo jumped. "No! Wait! They'll be here! Just a little longer!"

Edward grabbed hold of Lazlo's shirt and began dragging him into the bus. "Give it a rest, would yah! You're making a scene!"

Lazlo felt tears burn his brown eyes. "But…Raj!…Clam!…! Edward, I can't leave without saying goodbye, I just can't!"

The platypus stopped and turned around. Lazlo's pleading eyes pulverized his heart like a raw piece of meat. "Must you be so manipulative?"

"Mani-who?" The monkey blinked through his tears.

Edward grabbed hold of his shirt again and pulled him up to the front door of the bus. "Hey Slinkman! Lazlo here's got to take a leak. Will you hold the bus for him?"

The slug looked at his wristwatch. "Well…if he makes it quick! None of you can be late to catch your planes!"

Edward released the monkey. "Run, be free. But make it snappy, Laz."

Lazlo squealed. "Oh Edward….thank you so much!! I can't tell you enough how--"

"JUST GO ALREADY!"

Edward watched as the monkey disappeared through the bushes, still beaming back at him from over his shoulder.

He blushed. "Since when have I become so giving and kind?" He looked at the nameless pig scout who had been standing next to him the entire time. Without another thought he pushed the pig down into the dirt abruptly.

Satisfied, Edward grinned. "That's more like it."

[TBC


	6. We'll be Together

**Chapter Six**

**We'll be Together**

Lazlo trudged through the camp grounds, glancing every which way in a despite attempt to find Raj and Clam quickly before the bus departed.

Whether or not he had enough time was beside him. He feared Slinkman would catch on that going to the bathroom usually didn't take this long!

"Raj!! Clam??" He called out through the empty camp. His voice echoed through the vacant cabins and mess hall. It resembled a ghost town.

He took a minute to stop and catch his breath, holding his knees for support. "Where could they have gone? They wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye, would they?" Lazlo was talking out loud to himself, but seeing an no one else was around, he didn't really care. "No! No, they wouldn't do that! They're my pals! They're probably waiting for me somewhere!"

After reassuring himself to commence his search, the bus horn suddenly screamed out in the distance. The sound pierced his body as he slowly came to realize that he had run out of time. His buddies were no where to be seen, and he would miss his plane home if he continued looking for them.

He lowered his head. "I….guess they got busy?….or maybe… they ran out of time like I did?"

The air around the monkey felt very cold all of a suddenly. Clouds were forming overhead. Finally, the atmosphere of the day was harmonizing with the weather.

He pressed himself to continue searching, but after the bus horn bellowed out for a second time, he was forced to backtrack to the front of camp where Slinkman had the bus parked waiting for him.

The slug opened the doors and the primate climbed the steps into the big yellow vehicle with resistance, looking back over his shoulder, gazing out sadly at Camp Kidney, and feeling horrible.

Slinkman wore a sad expression too and patted Lazlo's shoulder. "I know. Camp Kidney's gunna miss you too, Lazlo."

The monkey glumly grinned at the assistant scoutmaster before making his way down the isle to find a seat.

Edward was sitting near the back, peering up at him with confusion. "What's with that depressed look? Didn't you find em'?"

Lazlo sighed and plopped down onto the cushioned seat beside the platypus. "….No."

Edward raised an eyebrow, then looked out the window again.

Outside, a few raindrops hit the hot ground, creating single specks across the dry dirt. Parents were still gathering their kids into their mini-vans or running for cover from the rain. No sign of the elephant or rhino anywhere!

Edward sat back into the seat, not sure what to say in order to consul the monkey. A part of him didn't really care whether or not the other two Jellies showed up to say goodbye, but seeing Lazlo in the state he was in made Edward wish they could have at least made it back in time to see Lazlo off decently. It pissed him off slightly and just added to the disappointments the day was bringing him. He kicked lightly at the booth in front of them. "…I…uhm….I'm sorry, Laz. I'm sure they tried to make it."

Lazlo smiled slightly. "Thanks, Edward."

The platypus looked down at his lap, not knowing if his words were of any help or not. It didn't seem like enough.

The bus started to rumble under their feet as the engine started up.

Slinkman looked out the front window and waved at Scoutmaster Lumpus, who was standing outside with an umbrella. But it appeared that he was much too busy drooling over the sight of a rain-drenched Ms. Doe to care about the departing bus or the scouts within it.

The slug rolled his eyes. "Alright, everyone! Are you ready?"

Edward sighed softly, sinking in further to the seat, hating each passing minute more and more.

Lazlo tried to control himself, but his bottom lip quivered and his eyes blurred from the un-spilt tears. "….What if I never see them again?"

It was very difficult to ignore the pathetic sorrow in the monkey's voice. Edward frantically searched his brain for something to say. _Anything _to bring peace to the situation! He couldn't deal with sniveling the whole way to the airport! Having come up with nothing to say though, he laid his chin down near the windowsill and let his breath fog up the glass in defeat.

Just as the bus began to pull out, it came to a screeching halt and all of the scouts hit their heads on the booths in front of them.

Edward had smashed his face into the window and was now cursing loudly. "What the hell, Slinkman?? Why did we stop!!"

In the front of the bus, Slinkman was dangling his head out the driver-window shaking his fists. "What in God's name goes on!? Beans, are you insane?!"

Edward blinked and glanced out his own window to see nearly all the Bean Scouts chasing after the bus, waving their arms around and casting out farewells. Through the crowd of boys, Raj and Clam squeezed their way through, also waving around in a panic trying to get Lazlo's attention.

"Oh wow, this is _just _what I needed, a lasting memory of a swarm of dramatic bean scouts." Edward sarcastically spit out, although he was glad they had finally shown up. "Hey Laz, your insane compadres are outside making idiots of themselves."

Lazlo lifted his head from the mopey position he had been in and jumped over to the window, nearly squishing Edward in the process. His face lit up when he saw Raj and Clam jumping up and down outside with big smiles on their faces.

The monkey reached up and opened the bus window and stuck his head out. "You guys made it!"

Raj and Clam both grinned. "Of course we did! We wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to our best buddy!"

Clam accentuated. "Yeah, BFF!"

Lazlo let out a choked response. "I'm gunna miss you guys so much! I'll write to you both everyday!! No, every hour!!"

Raj squealed. "And _I _will call you every day and every hour!"

Clam thought for a moment. "Many postcards!"

The three friends shared a moment of random so-longs, all the while Edward stayed sunk down in the seat below the window, squished by Lazlo's weight climbing all over him.

"Is Edward with you, Lazlo?" Raj called up.

Edward sat up at the sound of his name and peered out the glass at all the beans.

"Yeah, he's right here!" Lazlo pointed happily at the platypus next to him.

Raj, Clam, and the other scouts all cried out, "Bye Edward!! We'll miss you!!"

Edward found it very hard all of a sudden to scowl at them like he normally would. He spared them a small grin and waved. "Yeah yeah, see you losers later."

Lazlo smiled at all this, weeping dramatically. The jerking motion of the bus backing out the main gates forced the two boys to plop back down in their seats.

Slinkman was now waving to the other beans outside. "Okay, okay! They'll miss you too! We gotta get a move on though!"

Lazlo pressed his face against the window once more. He saw _everyone_! Not just Raj and Clam, but Samson, Dave and Ping-Pong, Chip and Skip, and everyone else! It was a sight to be remembered. "Bye you guys!!" He called out one last time. He gazed in awe as the bean scouts chased alongside the bus until it got to the road.

The last thing Lazlo saw was Raj and Clam bawling together and waving their arms about. Patsy and Gretchen were standing with them, and just as they drove out of sight, Lazlo felt that the episode was more than enough for his young heart to make it home in one piece without his buddies at his side.

Edward shook his head. "I think I'm gunna need an aspirin."

Lazlo beamed, but his eyes were still filled with tears.

Edward caught himself resting a hand on the monkey's arm. "Settle down, it's okay. Geesh."

Lazlo rested his back in the seat and sighed, wiping his eyes with his fists.

This was it. The bus was moving. They were on their way to the airport, and although leaving Camp Kidney had been difficult, the mood setting in on them was predicting plenty worse difficulties in the near future.

* * *

The rain drenching the road outside made for a low-key environment.

The few scouts on the bus had said nothing the entire trip, just stared glumly out their windows and counted rain drops.

Edward and Lazlo were no exception.

Edward was now slumped down into the cushioned booth, arms crossed, determined to keep composure.

Lazlo had stopped sobbing over the Camp Kidney departure and was now gazing up at the trees above the bus alongside the road, passing in and out of view hypnotically.

The venture from Prickly Pines to the nearest airport took around a half an hour.

It was already 20 minutes into the trip. Time was running out.

Edward stared at the booth in front of him blankly. _Lazlo…….what do I say to you when we get there? How do I do this? How do I say goodb--_

"--Edward?" Lazlo had punctured through Edward's desperate thoughts.

He turned to look up at the monkey, who was sitting up straight in his seat. "What do you want?"

Lazlo smiled weakly and slumped down into his own seat, so that their faces we at the same level. "…Hi."

Edward tried to avert eye contact. "Hi."

Lazlo studied Edward. He tried to dig up what he was thinking about without having to ask.

"Oh, there's the sign. 5 miles to go, scouts." Slinkman blurted out from the front of the bus. He was still in a dreary mood, judging by the monotone of his voice.

Lazlo saw Edward's face lose flare after Slinkman's announcement.

The clock was ticking.

He frowned, lowering his head and resting it on the platypus's shoulder. He didn't say anything.

Edward held onto his tension for awhile, but then gave up and reluctantly laid his cheek against Lazlo's crimson hair. He didn't say anything either.

The Camp Kidney bus pulled onto an off-ramp and then up into a clearing, where in front of them lay a rather large town with tall buildings and fenced off areas. From their position, they could see the airport fields in the distance.

Lazlo's heart raced. His usual positive attitude was slipping. What good could come of this? Sure, he would see his folks and friends again back home. It was true that he had missed all of that over the summer. But…what about Edward? They'd grown so attached! He'd become so accustomed to seeing him every day! Lazlo's life wouldn't seem right anymore, unless Edward was apart of it!

He could feel the enormous weight Edward was carrying, and not just because the platypus was nearly knocking him over as they leaned on each other. No, Lazlo could feel that sickening weight in a number of different ways. And for the first time, Lazlo slightly saw the reality of the world they lived in. He didn't like it.

All of a sudden, the bus hit a speed bump and they sat back up again, shaking from their previous composure.

They were already pulling into the airport gates.

They both swallowed hard.

Lazlo stared out the window at the scenery outside. He remembered the airport from when he had first arrived in the beginning of the summer. He remembered being so excited to meet everyone at camp and have the best summer ever. He smiled slightly to himself when he realized that he truly _did _have the best summer ever. He had the memories to prove it. He wished he could go back and relive them all.

Edward also remembered the airport. He'd flown in with his brothers, who dropped him off at camp early to be rid of him. They were all going on vacation, while Edward was forced to stay at camp and waste away all summer. He remembered that the only reason why he ever even went to camp every year was because his brother's had all gone before him, and it was a some sort of twisted family tradition. Maybe his parents thought that if he went to camp, he would grow up to be like his brothers, who were all more successful and talented than he was. Edward had grown up being told constantly that he was wrong, and in order to "correct" him, his parents sent him to summer camp year after year.

He hated going to camp, but there was one aspect about it that above all other things made Edward agree with his parents to continue going. Those three months away from home got him _away _from his family and home life all together! School and home were never welcoming places for him. The attention at Camp Kidney, on the other hand, was limited but satisfying. Don't believe for a second that he actually liked camp, because he was always glad when summer was over! But apart of him hated returning to his real life also, and this is what kept him returning to rickety old Camp Kidney annually. He never had a reason for actually _missing _camp.

He stared down at his hands in his lap, realizing that he now _had _a reason though.

The two boys glanced at one another, then quickly looked away.

"Now let's see…is it parking lot A or C? I can never remember…." Slinkman was mumbling to himself.

Lazlo's heart grew heavy. He felt like he weighed a million pounds, or that gravity around him had been turned on high. He peeked over at Edward again, who was staring down at his shoes, kicking them into the booth in front of them nervously.

Lazlo slowly reached over and laid his hand down on Edward's.

The kicking stopped.

Edward looked down at the hand, fighting away the idea that any of this would be easy. He picked up Lazlo's hand and closed both of his own hands around it, holding it tightly close to him as if to rip it off and keep it.

Laz would have gladly given it to him, had it not been attached to his arm.

At long last, the bus came to a stop, parking outside a tunneled doorway that read 'Gate 005'.

Slinkman turned around in his seat and stared back at the mere 5 scouts on the bus. He was wearing a forced smile. "Alright scouts….whoever has tickets for this gate number or a number close to it needs to get off here. I'll help you get your luggage."

Lazlo and Edward both reached into their pockets and pulled out their tickets. Lazlo's read 003 and Edward's read 005.

They looked at each other and weakly grinned. They could get off together here. Edward released his hand and they both made their way to the front of the bus.

Lazlo turned around and looked back at the now 2 bean scouts and 1 squirrel scout sitting in the back row of the bus. He waved to them with a weepy expression and then walked down the steps and out of view.

They waved back, but then looked at each other as if to say "who was that?"

The sidewalk outside was crowded with people walking in all directions. Slinkman opened the trunk underneath the bus and pulled out their suitcases.

"Well Lazlo, Edward. I guess this is it." The slug gushed out.

Lazlo took a deep breath to keep himself poised, then nodded. "Thanks for everything, Mr. Slinkman. I had a really great summer."

The assistant scoutmaster smiled and rested a hand on the monkey's shoulder.

He turned to Edward and nodded to him as well. "Now you stay out of trouble, Edward."

Edward groaned silently, then shook Slinkman's hand. "Not promisin' nothin', Slinky."

The slug reluctantly headed back to the bus door. "….Stay safe, you two! Make sure you get to your gates on time! Go to the main desk first and give them your tickets and luggage! It should be right inside! And keep an eye on each other until you're both set! …Got it?" Slinkman resembled a worried mother sending her children off into the world.

The boys both nodded and waved. "We will, Mr. Slinkman."

After a few more rounds of instructions and advice, Slinkman finally got back onto the bus. As the big yellow vehicle pulled back out into the street, the 3 scouts inside and Slinkman all waved out the windows at them until they disappeared through the massively packed parking lot.

Lazlo watched as the words scribbled across the bus reading 'Camp Kidney' vanished in the dust. He took another deep breath and then turned back to Edward, who stood aloof on the street corner, tugging at his own shirt.

"Well…..I guess we go inside and check in?" The monkey's suggestion was artificial.

Edward lowered his head and nodded. They both grabbed hold of their suitcases and rolled them inside the gate entryway.

Inside, the crowds of people were so immense that they could hardly breathe!

"Uhhhg….I hate being surrounded by tourists." Edward twitched a little.

Lazlo peered around them. "It must be because everyone's going home from vacation."

They felt a little lost for a second, before they spotted the check-in desk and rushed to push their way past people to get to the correct line. Thankfully, it was a short wait.

The woman behind the desk was a lovely young zebra with black-framed glasses. She smiled such a cheesy grin that Edward had to avoid looking at her in order not to laugh.

"H-Hello! Oh goodness…first day on the job! Eh heh.. How may I help you two boys?" She seemed to be very nervous.

Lazlo smiled humbly. "We're just checking our luggage in, Ma'am. Here's our tickets." He stood on his tip-toes to slide both their tickets across the table for the woman to see.

She studied the tickets carefully, then smiled her cheesy grin again. "Oh, I see! You two are on separate flights! Alright…I've got everything handled here!" She proceeded to ask them to put their luggage on the weighing machine, then tagged each of them and sent them down a conveyer belt. "Okay! Ones due for flight 003 and the other for 005!"

Lazlo and Edward glanced at each other, then back at the lady.

She leaned forward and tilted her glasses down her nose a bit. "Wow, all the way back to New York and… _Brazil_? What are you cuties doing so far from home?"

Lazlo grinned hesitantly. "Um, summer camp ma'am."

Her face lit up. "Awww, so precious! You know, I used to be a Squirrel Scout! Best years of my life! You two are so lucky!"

Edward crossed his arms and stared blankly up at her. "A Squirrel Scout, eh?" He leaned over to Lazlo and mumbled, "That explains a lot."

Lazlo tried to keep from giggling as he tossed up a genuine smile to her. She was oblivious to the inside joke as she handed them back their tickets. "There you go, you boys have a safe trip!"

Lazlo nodded, "Thank you!"

They exited the line quickly and headed for the safe haven of a nearby bench. They only had their carry-on backpacks now and sat down to study their tickets and figure out where to go from there.

"This all seemed a lot easier the first time…" Lazlo scratched his head.

Edward shrugged without replying.

Lazlo noticed his sudden quietness, but tried to make the mood more cheerful. "Look, Edward! Says here my flight won't leave for another half an hour! We should go buy something to eat! Or check out those comics at that newspaper stand! Or…"

As Lazlo babbled on and on with meaningless suggestions to pass the time, Edward sat unresponsive, staring down at the dirty airport floor.

…_So this is it. Here we are. The airport._

He looked around him for a second, spotting a couple across the room embracing each other while crying. They were either saying goodbye or joyfully reuniting again after a long period of absence.

He lowered his head again. _…What do I do?! It's now or never, right? How do I say it? Do I just give him a hug and leave?….No, if I do that then I'll be all upset about everything the whole flight home! …Maybe I should just make it really vague? Yeah…like two strangers who just had lunch together and are now parting ways! That might make it easier, right? …._ He peered down at his plane ticket and read the times. With a large sigh, he handed his ticket to Lazlo.

The monkey was still rambling on. "…Oh! Or we could go see where all the luggage goes when you put it on the conveyer belt! Or--…What's this?" He took Edward's ticket and read it out loud. "Flight 005 departure 11:45 a.m.."

A nearby clock read 11:35.

Lazlo lowered his head, handing the ticket back. "…Oh….not much time left, huh?"

Edward shook his head.

Lazlo kicked his legs back and forth underneath him, forming a dejected expression.

Edward continued to stay silent.

A voice over the intercom blurted out, "Flight 005 Passengers, last call for check-in and boarding. Last call for check-in and boarding. Flight departure in 10 minutes. Destination: New York."

Edward swallowed hard.

Lazlo leaned forward to make eye contact with the platypus. "….Your…flight leaves soon. Don't you have to be on the plane before the departure time?"

Edward heaved a, "Yeah…"

Lazlo felt heavy again as he crawled off the bench. "…Come on, I'll walk you to your gate."

Edward still stared at the ground. _What do I say?! What do I say?! I don't want to go yet! Lazlo…..what do I say…?_

Lazlo wore a heartrending look. "…Edward?"

Finally, the platypus peered up at him with pleading eyes. This tore up Lazlo's heart ten times over, so much that he had to look away in order to regain composure and reach forward to pull the platypus up to his feet. "…Come on…you can't miss your plane…"

Edward sighed and picked up his backpack and slid it on apprehensively.

The two walked side by side towards the crowded 005 gate, where a long line of people slowly passed through security and handed their tickets to a stewardess. It then appeared that passengers were to progress into a tunnel which led them into the cockpit of the plane.

Large windows in the waiting area revealed the massive jet being loaded out on the run-way.

Before the two boys could reach the line, Edward stopped in the middle of the crowd.

Lazlo stopped too, unsure what the platypus was doing.

For a moment Edward kept his back to Lazlo, but then finally turned to face him with unconfident eyes.

Lazlo didn't understand the situation. He was trying, but it was hard. He had wanted to send Edward off with a smile, but how could he do that when Edward wouldn't even look at him? It wasn't long before he realized that he also had a hard time looking at Edward though…

Edward stared at his feet. _…..I have to say __**something!**__….. But what? …………What should I do?…._

He glanced up at the monkey before quickly looking back down at his feet again. _I don't know if its right…but…..I have to do it somehow so I won't have to think about it when I leave. I guess I'll just make it a casual goodbye. It'll be easier. I know if I don't make it easier, I'll just drive myself insane… …..I have to make it easy… _He finally made up his mind.

Lazlo smiled weakly, unaware of Edward's silent decision. "….Edward…I, um……I guess this is it……."

Silence.

The primate continued, tears rimming his eyes. "I….I wanted you to know, Edward…. I'm really….I …. I'm…..really gunna mi--"

"--Yeah yeah, Lazlo." Edward interrupted harshly, reaching forward and taking Lazlo's hand, shaking it as if they were business executives. "…I had a great time. Maybe I'll see yah around…"

Lazlo grew confused. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, was it? Saying goodbye?

He stared down at Edward's hand, still shaking up and down as if they barley knew each other. The monkey wanted to reject the indifferent farewell, but he wasn't accustomed to doing something so heartless, so he just stood there shaking the platypus's hand with a sore, aching feeling in his stomach.

Edward finally released his hand and peered up at him for one more second, before turning around abruptly and walking like a straight arrow towards the boarding gate without looking back.

Was that it? Lazlo stood there in the crowd, motionless, feeling the weight of the world pressure down on him as he watched Edward walk away. He wanted to run after him, but was too confused to budge. He felt like he had done something wrong, or that he had misunderstood Edward the entire time and had expected too much out of the goodbye procedure. Maybe he was the one that was incorrect? He looked at his empty hand. He lowered his head. _Edward….?_

The platypus now stood in line at the busy gate, waiting for the stewardess to take his ticket. His mind raced._ I did the right thing. ……I did the right thing. …….I swear I did the right thing……Didn't I? ….._

Lazlo was now staring across the crowds of people at him.

Edward didn't look back at him. He couldn't. _You don't understand, Lazlo. I can't say goodbye to you like that….I can't stand there and pour my guts out…. I can't. I can't do it._

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lazlo finally turn away, walking the other direction, vanishing through the swarms of people.

Edward's heart thumped loudly in his chest. _It's better this way….. because I won't have to see your face and remember what it felt like….. to be…_

His fists clutched, crinkling the tiny plane ticket in his palm.

It was torture. Either way, it was pure torture. Whether he said goodbye to Lazlo the right way or not, he was still going to hate himself afterwards. There was no easy way. He grew angry at the fact that he had just now realized this.

What he had _wanted _to do was make saying goodbye easy! So that when he got on that plane and journeyed back home, he wouldn't have to remember anything about his feelings or doubts. He could be trouble-free. Because how else could he bare to go back home and return to a life _without _what he had been given all summer? How could he manage to get by without having something there to support him or to cheer him up? How could he return to a life where there was _no _love, after having been exposed to it for so long??

Love.

There was that word again. The one he barley understood.

Heck, he barley understood _any _of this…..!

Why was everything so confusing?! Why couldn't he just make himself forget??

He didn't understand…

But somehow, out of all the struggle, turmoil, hate, regret, happiness, whatever it was he'd been feeling all that time… deep down, something told him that he _did _understand. If only a little.

His teeth gritted as it dawned on him. _……..Lazlo…………I….I…_--

--"Ticket, please."

He peered up to find a stewardess towering above him, holding out her hand waiting for his ticket. It would appear that he had moved to the front of the line without noticing. Time had elapsed over him once again.

He looked down and opened his fist, revealing the crinkled piece of paper. He stared down at it intimately, feeling the whole world crash on top of him.

"Hun, your ticket?" The stewardess enforced the statement once more.

Edward reached up slowly, offering the ticket away, but still held it firmly between his fingers.

What was it he had just realized? Had he been so dumb? Had he been so incredibly stupid that he had let himself walk away from the best thing that had ever happened to him??

The stewardess grew impatient. "Hun, I'm sorry, but the flight is leaving shortly and we don't have a lot of time. Your ticket, _please_!"

Edward finally caught his breath, looking back up at the woman. "….You're right…We don't have a lot of time!"

Before the stewardess could say another word, Edward dropped the ticket at her feet and took off in a sprint away from the gate and back down the corridor where the massive crowds of people walked in every direction.

_How could I be so stupid!! How could I just….__**walk away **__like that!? I'm so stupid!! __**SO STUPID!! **_He battled with himself, hating himself more and more as he pushed his way through suitcases and bags and people, trying desperately to find what he had let get away.

"LAZLO!!" To hell with it, he decided. He was going to bellow out that damn monkey's name until he found him! He didn't care what other people thought anymore. He only cared about one thing.

After fighting his way through hordes of people, finally he stopped. Just up ahead, walking slowly to gate 003, was the person Edward had been denying for so long. Too long.

He took a deep breath and held it in. "LAZLO, YOU _IDIOT_!! WAIT!!"

The monkey stopped. His heart skipped slightly as he slowly looked over his shoulder.

Across the room, amongst all the insensible people, stood Edward out of breath.

Lazlo turned completely around and stood still, staring through the crowd with question in his eyes.

Edward swallowed and felt his eyes burning. He pressed his lips together, trying to hold in his confessions. He was there to say goodbye properly, not to cry and get sentimental! But the more he stared over at Lazlo from across the room, the more he felt hot water fill the corners of his eyes. "…..Wait." He mumbled.

Lazlo was caught off guard by the tearful expression on the platypus's face. Never had Lazlo seen such a look on him before. It was filled with remorse and guilt, but there was a pleading understanding and determination mixed in with it. Even though Lazlo was still confused and hurt by the earlier events that had taken place, something inside him pushed him to forget all of that and move ahead. To make that sad expression of Edward's go away. The hurt, or whatever it was.

Not another moment went by and they started to make their way through the crowd towards one another. The room was large, and the blankets of people were larger still, but they managed to push their way through it all.

They started running, making their way around the obstacles separating them.

Running, avoiding, stumbling..…

Until finally they fell out of the crowd and engulfed one another.

Edward immediately dug his fingers in and grasped the back of Lazlo's shirt, burying his tearful face into the monkey's chest and at last allowing himself to spill out what had dared to escape moments before so vulnerably out in the open.

Lazlo's arms held on tightly to the smaller boy, tighter than he had held onto anyone or anything else ever before. "You came back." His voice cracked.

Edward said nothing, hiding his face away in safety.

Lazlo stared down at him. He could feel warm tears soaking through his shirt. "Edward..?"

Reluctantly, Edward rose his face to stare sniveling up at the monkey. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were rimmed with tears. He wore an angry, but sentimental expression.

Lazlo squeezed tighter. "….Edward, I wanted to tell you….I really wanted to tell you that I…."

Edward held onto Lazlo's words, but after the monkey lost his voice in the noisy crowds of travelers surrounding them, Edward bit down on his bottom lip to stop it from quivering.

They both stared into each other for the longest time. Lazlo looked as though he was at a loss for words, while Edward battled away the distress he was unwillingly showing.

It was in that moment that Lazlo saw a tear escape those blue eyes, daring to trickle down Edward's cheek and fall to the floor, inevitable. Without even thinking about it, the monkey reached down and wiped it away with his thumb gently.

Edward sniffed, still staring up at Laz with that angry face.

Lazlo studied it for awhile, all of a sudden taking on a faint smile.

Edward blinked. Why was he smiling like that at a time like that?

Lazlo then leaned down, pushed back Edward's blonde bangs, and kissed his forehead so delicately Edward barely felt it.

The platypus stepped back a bit, blushing. Lazlo still held onto him.

He found confidence and lifted his head now, taking in air. "…I really hate you... I really hate you _so _freaking much. …..I…" He shut his eyes, shaking his head. "…..Lazlo, I hate you because…because I…."

Lazlo's smile broadened. "I love you, Edward."

Edward opened his eyes now and stared up at him in a bit of disbelief. He'd never actually _heard _Lazlo say that so seriously. In fact, he couldn't remember a time where he had ever heard him say that at all! At least not at a time where he was sure he heard correctly.

Of course, their affection for each other was obvious, but hearing it out loud made it so much different. It changed everything, somehow.

Edward sharply inhaled air. The monkey was still smiling that dopey smile at him that he "hated" so much.

He sighed out loud softly, opening his mouth and impelling the words out one by one. "…I love you….Lazlo."

After those words drifted on the air, Edward felt the tremendous weight of the world lift away. The vast relief he felt when Lazlo still kept smiling and pulled him so close that he couldn't breathe. The feeling of the rest of humanity vanishing.

It was the best feeling in the entire world.

It was the only thing Edward had wanted.

Before he pried himself away from the arms of the warm-bodied monkey, he secretly beamed into Lazlo's shirt, letting out all the happiness he felt.

When he began to back away, Lazlo had a tender-heated look on his face. "Oh, wait!"

Edward stumbled a bit.

The primate dug around in his pocket for a few seconds before finally pulling out a little bundle of paper and handing it to the platypus cheerfully.

"What is it?" Edward started to un-crumple it.

Lazlo shook his head quickly. "You have to wait until you get on the plane! No peeking til then! You have to promise!"

Edward lifted an eye brow sarcastically. "Ok ok, don't have a cow."

Lazlo laughed slightly under his breath.

They both smiled at each other.

Edward finally lifted his hand and half-waved at the monkey.

Lazlo did the same.

Edward took a few steps backward, then turned around and started heading back to gate 005.

Lazlo took a deep breath and started to turn back toward gate 003, when he heard his name.

"Lazlo!"

He had hardly looked over his shoulder when Edward leaped up and wrapped his arms around Lazlo's neck. He squeezed him tightly.

Lazlo returned the hug around Edward's waist and squeezed him back lovingly, picking him up off the floor in the process.

The feeling was good. More than good, incomparable to anything else.

Edward leaned towards Lazlo's ear and smiled. "See you soon!" He then released the monkey, turned back around, still smiling, and disappeared into the crowd.

Lazlo was a bit taken back by the sudden gesture, but as Edward's final words soaked in, he grinned to himself as he picked his backpack up.

Edward hadn't said goodbye after all.

* * *

--7 hours and 3 minutes Later--

…_.Damn you, Lazlo…_

Edward sat on the plane, staring out the window at the passing clouds. The memory of the last days of Camp Kidney and the incident at the airport; it all settled into his mind like a newly read book.

He sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.

Something in his pocket poked at his side, so he reached in and pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper.

He had to think for a moment, before remembering what it was and that he'd forgotten to open it!

He smiled silently as he reluctantly unwrinkled the paper.

At long last, it revealed a hand-written message in scribbled penmanship, with hundreds of little drawings and peace-signs all over it. He laid it out on his lap and began to glance over it.

The little stick-figure drawings must have been Lazlo and him…doing unusually random activities such as scuba-diving to shake hands with idealistic fish or climbing trees that existed in the clouds. The message written across the middle of the page was vague, but endearing in every implication.

It read: _We'll be Together!_

Edward turned the paper over and then back around. "That's it? No huge love confessions or poems or nothin'?" The platypus pouted for a moment, having expected something more romantic.

Then he reminded himself that this was Lazlo he was thinking of. Too naïve and childish to understand the adult efforts of romance. He shook his head. "What an idiot."

However, as he stared down at all the pictures and read the words "_We'll be Together!_" over and over again to himself, he smiled calmly and slid back into his seat again, admiring the secret meaning behind the youthful words.

A ding noise was heard, and a voice sounded over the intercom. "Flight 005 approaching destination; New York City."

Edward zoned out the announcement, lost in his own imagination.

If there was one thing he hated most about the ignorant Lazlo, it was his candid abilities to make Edward fall in love him over and over again, whether miles apart, or closer than they actually realized.

"Yeah, we'll be together." Edward grinned to himself, watching out the window as the plane drifted down through the clouds, landing on airfields outstretched across the far off city lights.

End

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Writing for LxE never gets old. This story came from an idea I originally had involvng a day in a sunflower field, but then I got to thinking about what it would be like if summer ended and the scouts had to go home, and then I really wanted to try that idea out instead. Its sad, a bit overly-sentimental at times, but it was fun! I'd write more fluff fics for these two any day!_

_I do worry about how well I did at keeping everyone in-character, mostly in Edward's case. Now that I look back, I could have canoned Edward's personality way more than I did when I first wrote it. But Edward does have a soft side (imo) and so I think the story still fairs. I had a bit of trouble deciding on home-destinations for Edward also. Murray never really hints to us where any of the CL characters live, except for Lazlo, Raj, and Clam. So I just decided I'd have Edward be from the Bronx or something, haha. He seems to be the type._

_This story has such potential for a sequel. But I'll wait to hear feedback and reviews before I start thinking that far ahead!_

_Anyway, thank you for reading my first CL fic! I hope you enjoyed it! _

_Take care,_

_sunshine1717_


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